Thomas Taubmann
Thomas Taubmann (born July 22, 1955 in Berlin ; † December 12, 1981 there ) was a victim of the Berlin Wall . While trying to overcome the wall between the districts of Prenzlauer Berg and Wedding , he was run over by a freight train in the border area and fatally injured.
Life
As the only child of his parents, Taubmann grew up in Berlin-Weißensee . After school, he completed an apprenticeship as a machine fitter. While at work, he specialized in crane repairs. He married a young woman who had a son by him in 1976. His employer gave him the opportunity to study at the engineering school for mechanical engineering and electrical engineering in Berlin-Lichtenberg from 1977 . Taubmann's marriage failed in 1979. He broke off his studies shortly before graduation. He developed a drinking problem and was caught shoplifting, for which he was to answer in court on December 14, 1981.
On the evening of December 12, 1981, he got drunk on a freight train that stopped briefly at the exit of the Berlin-Pankow train station and drove on towards the city center. The railway line ran between the Pankow and Schönhauser Allee stations on a section directly through the border area. When the train passed the Bösebrücke , it jumped off. According to documents from the Ministry for State Security (MfS), he got under the moving train while jumping. The driver of an oncoming train spotted him a little later.
During a search of his apartment, the authorities found a suicide note in which he announced that he would flee across the Czechoslovak-Austrian border. His parents were informed the following day and taken to the Charité forensic medical institute for identification of the body . The MfS decided to portray the death as an accident. Only after German reunification was the family able to read the farewell letter in the files of the MfS.
A picture of him is now at the memorial window of remembrance of the Berlin Wall Memorial .
See also
- Dietmar Schulz was hit by an S-Bahn while trying to escape in the same section of the border in 1963 and died a little later of his injuries.
- Klaus Kratzel was hit by an S-Bahn in the same section of the border while attempting to escape and was fatally injured.
- Volker Frommann died in 1973 while trying to escape as a result of jumping out of a moving S-Bahn in the same section of the border.
- Ingolf Diederichs got stuck on the train while trying to escape in the same section of the border when he jumped from a moving S-Bahn and was fatally injured.
Web links and receipts
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Taubmann, Thomas |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German casualty from the Berlin Wall |
| DATE OF BIRTH | July 22, 1955 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Berlin |
| DATE OF DEATH | December 12, 1981 |
| Place of death | Berlin |