This year, we will be commemorating Günter Wiedenhöft at km 78 on Lankestrasse in Klein Glienicke, a district of Potsdam.
We will have volunteers there to oversee the memorial service. Günter Wiedenhöft’s family members will also be present and available for discussion. All participants can write their thoughts on a card in advance or on-site, which we will then pin to a large board. It will also be possible to light a candle to add a dignified touch to the commemoration.
Günter Wiedenhöft (* February 14, 1942 in Berlin; † December 5 or 6, 1962 in Potsdam) was a victim of the Berlin Wall. He drowned while attempting to escape from East Germany.
On October 11, 1962, he was arrested in Treptow while scouting the border to West Berlin. During interrogation by the People’s Police, he admitted to having planned his escape. He cited family disputes and his impending conscription into the National People’s Army as reasons. Those close to him claimed to have known nothing of his plans. Following the trial on November 27, 1962, the Treptow District Court sentenced him to eight months’ imprisonment for so-called attempted “escape from the republic.” Because he showed remorse in court, he was allowed to remain at liberty until he began his sentence.
Günter Wiedenhöft, however, made a second escape attempt, traveling to Potsdam on December 5. There, he went to the shore of Lake Griebnitz and cut through the three barbed wire fences erected to secure the border area. In the middle of the frozen lake, border guards kept a shipping channel clear to prevent escapes. Around midnight, two border guards heard noises from the ice, which led them to suspect an escape attempt. Without seeing a fugitive, they ordered him to turn back and fired approximately 40 shots. Alerted by the gunshots, police on the West Berlin side of the lake also assumed an escape attempt was underway, but were unable to locate any fugitive. During a search of the shore, East German border guards found Günter Wiedenhöft’s coat, scarf, and pliers.
Border guards found Günter Wiedenhöft’s body on March 25, 1963, in the Babelsberger Enge. Papers identifying him as Günter Wiedenhöft were found on the body, which bore no gunshot wounds. Günter Wiedenhöft’s mother also recognized the coat and scarf. The exact date of his death could not be determined. Günter Wiedenhöft’s wristwatch stopped at 12:14 a.m. The West Berlin police report recorded the shots as being fired between 12:20 a.m. and 12:26 a.m. on December 6.