Klaus Schulze (Wall victim)
Klaus Schulze (born October 13, 1952 in Falkensee , † March 7, 1972 ibid) was a victim of the Berlin Wall . Members of the GDR border troops shot him while trying to escape from the GDR .
Life
Klaus Schulze was born in Falkensee and went to school in Falkenhöh until 1968. At the age of 14 he made his first attempt to escape, which had no consequences for him. He broke off the subsequent training as a cattle breeder and subsequently worked as an unskilled worker. Because of his frequently changing jobs, between which he was repeatedly unemployed, he was reprimanded by the city council of Falkensee. On March 5, 1972, he and his friend Dieter Krause received another reprimand for "strolling around work". Both were to be sent to a labor education camp and were therefore looking for a way to leave the GDR.
The following day, the two observed the border strip that ran directly behind a friend's property in Falkenhöh for over 24 hours. They discovered that the next watchtower was about 300 meters away, a lamp in the control strip lighting was not working and bushes in the border strip provided cover for the escape. On the afternoon of March 7, 1972, they went to several bars in Falkensee until they went to the property on the border at around 8 p.m. With a ladder found on site, they crawled under the hinterland fence and climbed the adjoining signal fence with the ladder. They triggered a silent alarm. They ran with the ladder on to the final expanded metal fence . When Dieter Krause put the ladder on this fence, the crew of the watchtower opened fire on the refugees. While he was getting over the fence, Klaus Schulze was shot in the chest, which injured his main artery and lungs.
The next day, employees of the Ministry for State Security (MfS) picked up the dead man's sister for interrogation. His parents informed the Stasi three days later about the incident. They had to consent to a cremation. In the period that followed, the family was monitored by unofficial employees of the MfS.
After German reunification, the Berlin public prosecutor's office began investigations into the incident, which led to a wall rifle trial in 1994 . The proceedings against one of the border guards were dropped because they were unable to stand trial. The Potsdam Regional Court acquitted the second border post in 1997 because no intention to kill could be proven.
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
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Schulze, Klaus |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German casualty from the Berlin Wall |
| DATE OF BIRTH | October 13, 1952 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Falkensee |
| DATE OF DEATH | March 7, 1972 |
| Place of death | Falkensee |