Manfred Weylandt
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Manfred Weylandt (* July 12, 1942 in Berlin ; † February 14, 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
Manfred Weylandt grew up with two sisters with his mother in Berlin. He left school after the seventh grade and took on jobs as an unskilled worker. Several times he came into conflict with the law and served prison terms. After his second marriage in 1970, he worked in a filter and carburetor plant next to the Ostbahnhof . At the same time, he attended a boiler attendant course. In December 1971, he was tried again for theft and was sentenced to two years' imprisonment. He began to consume alcohol and pills in anticipation of his arrest.
In a letter on February 13, 1972, he was informed that he would have to go to Rummelsburg Prison to begin custody on March 1, 1972 . He had often spoken to his wife about fleeing to West Berlin. After a dispute over money, he left the apartment on the evening of February 14th and went to a restaurant in Berlin-Friedrichshain . Drunk, he rode his bike to work at around 10:30 p.m. He reached the border area over a roof, crossed the dog-run zone without triggering the alarm, and walked through the border strip to the bank of the Spree . He went into the water and swam towards West Berlin. When he was in the middle of the river, he was spotted by two border guards who called him and then opened fire. A bullet hit him in the back of the head. He drowned in the Spree. A diver found his body the next afternoon near the Schilling Bridge . For the removal, the border guards attached the body to the underside of a boat to hide it from view from West Berlin.
The border soldiers involved were awarded the "Achievement Badge of the Border Troops of the GDR". After German reunification, they had to answer a wall rifle trial before the Berlin district court. Both received 22 months suspended prison sentences for jointly committed manslaughter.
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 | Weylandt, Manfred |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German casualty from the Berlin Wall |
| DATE OF BIRTH | July 12, 1942 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Berlin |
| DATE OF DEATH | February 14, 1972 |
| Place of death | Berlin |