Klaus Schröter (Wall victim)

Klaus Schröter (born February 21, 1940 in Friedersdorf ; † November 4, 1963 in Berlin ) was a victim of the Berlin Wall . Members of the GDR border troops shot at him while trying to escape through the Spree between the Marschall Bridge and the Reichstag building . He lost consciousness and drowned as a result of a graze on the back of the head.

The Marschallbrücke under which Schröter went into the water, in the background the Reichstag, taken in 1991

White Crosses Memorial - the middle of the seven crosses is dedicated to Klaus Schröter. Axel Hannemann , who died at the same place, is commemorated on the back

Life

He grew up with two brothers in Friedersdorf near Bitterfeld . His parents' house was demolished because of the lignite mining in the region. After leaving school, he first completed an apprenticeship as an electrician at Agfa in Wolfen and then studied electrical engineering in Velten . In September 1961 he went to East Berlin and worked there as an electrical engineer at VEB Starkstromanlagenbau in the Mitte district. He took up additional studies and also worked as a lecturer at the adult education center in Pankow.

Attempted escape

His successful life in the GDR system ended with his voluntary resignation in April 1963, which he submitted because he was not granted promotion. The company forced him to withdraw his resignation. Klaus Schröter began planning his escape to the West. He planned to dive near the Reichstag through the Spree to West Berlin. To get the equipment, he sold his television and sewed a diving suit himself.

On the morning of November 4, 1963, he rode a bicycle to the Marschall Bridge, which was less than 100 meters from the sector boundary. He went under the bridge, cut the fence, and got into the river. A border soldier standing on a watchtower between him and West Berlin discovered him and immediately opened fire. Two other border guards also opened fire on the refugee. Injured by a graze on the back of the head, Klaus Schröter lost consciousness and drowned in the cold Spree. The East Berlin fire brigade took part in the search for the body, erecting a wall of water with a fire boat to prevent West Berlin eyewitnesses from seeing the body being recovered at around 7.45 a.m.

Aftermath

The GDR authorities gave the mother the cause of death "drowning after a brain contusion" and urged her to be cremated . The Ministry of State Security also concealed the circumstances of death from work colleagues. After German reunification , the riflemen were indicted in a wall rifle trial in 1994 , and one was convicted of manslaughter.

A cross facing the bank of the White Crosses Memorial on the Reichstag embankment commemorates Klaus Schröter.

literature

• Hans-Hermann Hertle , Maria Nooke : The victims of the Berlin Wall 1961 - 1989. A biographical handbook. Edited by the Center for Contemporary History Potsdam and the Berlin Wall Foundation. Links, Berlin 2009, ISBN 978-3-86153-517-1 .

Web links

• Brief portrait on www.chronik-der-mauer.de