Lothar Lehmann (Wall victim)

Lothar Lehmann (born January 28 or January 29, 1942 , † November 26, 1961 in Potsdam ) was a victim of the Berlin Wall .

Life

Lothar Lehmann was born on January 28th or 29th either in East Prussia or in Falkensee . The information in official documents is contradictory. He grew up in Falkensee with foster parents. After he left school after the 8th grade, he completed an apprenticeship as a locksmith. In September 1961 he began military service with the National People's Army and was deployed to secure the border between Potsdam and West Berlin.

In November 1961 he announced to his mother that he intended to flee. On November 26, 1961, he was deployed on the banks of the Havel near Sacrow . The border at this point was in the middle of the stream. Lothar Lehmann put on a life jacket. In an unobserved moment he went into the water towards evening to swim to West Berlin. He suffered a cold shock . Other border guards discovered him and took him out of the water. Lothar Lehmann died on the way to the hospital. In a subsequent autopsy, drowning as a result of cold shock and circulatory collapse was found to be the cause of death .

The foster parents were informed by the Ministry for State Security (MfS) on the day of his death that Lothar Lehmann drowned while attempting to desert . The MfS obliged her to keep silent about the circumstances of her death. When Wolfgang S., a friend of Lothar Lehmann's escape, the West Berlin authorities learned of the incident in 1962 and put Lehmann on the lists of victims of the Wall. Investigations initiated after the fall of the Berlin Wall confirmed the files in 1992.

literature

• Christine Brecht : Lothar Lehmann , in: The victims of the Berlin Wall 1961–1989 , Berlin 2009, pp. 57–59.

Web links

• Portrait of Lothar Lehmann at chronik-der-mauer.de