Paul Schultz
Paul Schultz (born October 2, 1945 in Neubrandenburg , † December 25, 1963 in Berlin ) was a victim of the Berlin Wall . While trying to escape he was shot dead by members of the GDR border troops in Berlin-Mitte .
Life
Paul Schultz was born in Neubrandenburg and grew up there with two older brothers. He met his escape companion, Hartmut D., at school from which he graduated with a secondary school leaving certificate. From September 1962 he did an apprenticeship as an electrician . With Hartmut D., who was almost exactly the same age, they decided to flee to the West in October 1963 at their joint birthday party.
On the morning of Christmas Day, both of them took the train to East Berlin. In the city center they looked for a suitable place to escape until dusk. At the corner of Melchiorstrasse and Bethaniendamm - on the border between Berlin-Mitte and Kreuzberg - they watched the border guards walking around. They climbed over the hinterland fence, crossed the border strip and climbed the last wall to West Berlin. When they reached the last wall, two border guards called for a stop and started shooting at the refugees. Hartmut D. made it over the wall unharmed. Paul Schultz was hit while he was on the top of the wall and fell on the West Berlin side of the wall. He was taken to the Bethanien Hospital on nearby Mariannenplatz , where he died of a lung wound.
The death of Paul Schultz triggered different reactions. While the riflemen were praised by the leadership of the GDR, protests took place on Mariannenplatz for several days. In the Christmas days of 1963, the pass agreement gave West Berliners the first opportunity to visit their relatives in East Berlin. The events in West Berlin raised the question of whether it was even possible to enter into negotiations with the GDR regime. Erich Mende , then Vice Chancellor, criticized the shots.
In a wall rifle trial before the Berlin district court in 1995, one of the guards was sentenced to a suspended sentence of 18 months for collective manslaughter. The second post had already passed away.
literature
- Hans-Hermann Hertle, Maria Nooke : The victims of the Berlin Wall 1961–1989. A biographical manual . Ch. Links, Berlin 2009, ISBN 978-3-86153-517-1 .
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Schultz, Paul |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German casualty from the Berlin Wall |
| DATE OF BIRTH | October 2, 1945 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Neubrandenburg |
| DATE OF DEATH | December 25, 1963 |
| Place of death | Berlin |