Rolf Henniger (Wall victim)

Rolf Henniger

Rolf Henniger (born November 30, 1941 in Saalfeld , † November 15, 1968 in Potsdam ) was a GDR border soldier who was killed while on duty .

Life

After finishing school, Rolf Henniger completed an apprenticeship as a train driver at the Deutsche Reichsbahn. He married in 1967 before taking up military service with the border troops of the GDR in November 1967 . After completing his basic training as a military driver, he was stationed there in Potsdam-Babelsberg and last served with the rank of private.

On the evening of November 15, 1968, Henniger and his platoon leader were on a border patrol in Potsdam. In their Trabant Kübelwagen they drove to the checkpoint at the bridge that led over the Teltow Canal into the enclave of Klein Glienicke . On the way, they discovered behind a tree a People's Police, they for the precinct stopped. Rolf Henniger stopped the car and set back about 15 meters. The people's police officer Horst Körner had left his unit shortly before and was on the run. He thought he had been discovered and opened fire on the vehicle. Rolf Henniger was shot several times in the head and upper body and died on the spot. His passenger dropped out of the car and returned fire, shooting Horst Körner.

The coverage of his death does not speak of a fleeing police officer, but of an "armed provocateur" who tried to break through the GDR border. The Ministry of State Security also did not tell the family that a police officer was responsible for the death. Rolf Henniger had told his family about his plans to flee, so that it was unclear to them until German reunification whether Rolf Henniger had not died trying to escape himself.

Rolf Henniger was buried in a state funeral on November 21 in his place of birth and henceforth portrayed as a hero. Schools, youth collectives and a stadium got his name.

Web links

Commons : Rolf Henniger  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Portrait of Rolf Henniger at chronik-der-mauer.de