Herbert Kiebler

Memorial plaque on the Wall Trail in Blankenfelde-Mahlow

Herbert Kiebler (born March 24, 1952 in Mahlow ; † June 27, 1975 ibid) was a victim of the Berlin Wall . While trying to escape, he was shot dead by members of the GDR border troops .

Life

Herbert Kiebler lived with his widowed mother and sister in Mahlow. He worked in the metal works and semi-finished products plant in Berlin.

On the eve of his death, he was drinking alcohol with friends in a restaurant in Mahlow and was involved in a brawl that evening. He returned home around 10 p.m. and left the apartment after about half an hour. He announced his escape in a suicide note to his mother. In a roundabout way, he reached the West Berlin border at around 0.30 a.m. As he crossed the border fortifications, he set off a silent alarm, which two border guards followed. When Kiebler stepped out of the car barrier, the border guards had taken position about 100 meters away and shot him. Hit in the chest and head, he went down and bled to death on the spot.

The Ministry of State Security (MfS) created the legend of suicide for the incident. To this end, the MfS falsified several protocols and persuaded a forester to make false statements. The MfS claimed to the family that Herbert Kiebler had killed himself with a knife, a tactical approach to cover up the attempted escape from the republic.

The family was refused a personal farewell to the body. The night before the funeral, the family broke into the morgue and discovered the gunshot wounds on the body. Herbert Kiebler's mother later tried to persuade the GDR authorities to investigate the true circumstances of his death.

The two border guards were awarded the medal for exemplary border service for their deed . After German reunification, they had to answer for manslaughter and aiding and abetting in a wall rifle trial before the Potsdam district court. The trial ended with prison sentences of 24 and 15 months on probation.

Web links

Commons : Herbert Kiebler  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Portrait from at chronik-der-mauer.de

literature

• Hans-Hermann Hertle, Maria Nooke : The victims of the Berlin Wall 1961–1989. A biographical manual . Ch.links, Berlin 2009, ISBN 978-3-86153-517-1 , p. 368 ff .