Michael Kollender
Michael Kollender (born February 19, 1945 in Silesia , † April 25, 1966 in Berlin ) was a victim of the Berlin Wall . He died while trying to escape when members of the GDR border troops were shot .
Life
He grew up with his three younger siblings in Oberlungwitz, Saxony . He later worked as a driver at a machine-tractor station in a neighboring town until he was called up for military service in November 1965. At the National People's Army he trained as a gunner in an anti-aircraft missile regiment. He was regarded as critical of the regime and had thoughts of fleeing.
On April 24, 1966, Kollender was employed on the night shift as a post on the site of the former Henschel factory in Berlin-Johannisthal . That night he tried to escape. Armed and in uniform he left his post, crossed the Johannisthal airfield and climbed over the hinterland wall of the border security system. Four border guards standing between 100 and 200 meters away from him immediately spotted him and shot him. In total, they fired over 100 rounds. Undeterred, Kollender continued his escape. When he reached the last barbed wire, two of the border guards fired barrages to prevent him from escaping again, hitting him twice in the head and several times in the body. The border guards dragged the seriously injured man into a ditch, from which he was transported to the hospital of the People's Police in Berlin-Mitte half an hour later . Michael Kollender died there.
The alleged gunman was awarded the medal for exemplary border service on the same day and was promoted. All border guards involved were commended for their behavior. After German reunification , the Berlin public prosecutor brought charges against the four border guards. One of them was sentenced to nine months probation. The alleged shooter was acquitted because he stated that he had recognized Kollender as a deserter and the court found that desertion is also prosecuted in a constitutional state.
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 | Kollender, Michael |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German casualty from the Berlin Wall |
| DATE OF BIRTH | February 19, 1945 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Silesia |
| DATE OF DEATH | April 25, 1966 |
| Place of death | Berlin |