Czesław Kukuczka (23 July 1935 – 29 March 1974) was a Polish man who became the 114th known person to die at the Berlin Wall. Kukuczka was assassinated during an attempt to threaten the Polish embassy in

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

into allowing him to migrate to

West Berlin West Berlin (german: Berlin (West) or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin during the years of the Cold War. Although West Berlin was de jure not part of West Germany, lacked any sovereignty, and was under mi ...

, becoming one of only three non-German escapee victims of the Berlin Wall.

Biography

Czesław Jan Kukuczka was born on 23 July 1935, in Kamienica, Poland, and grew up there. As a young boy, the local magazine “Gorczańskie Wieści" mentioned him as "the most active of the hotheads - young, full of ideas, and capable of dedication." At the age of 17, Kukuczka was recruited to participate in the construction of

Nowa Huta Nowa Huta (, literally "The New Steel Mill") is the easternmost district of Kraków, Poland. With more than 200,000 inhabitants, it is one of the most populous areas of the city. Until 1990, the neighbouring districts were considered expansions o ...

, a socialist model city on the eastern outskirts of

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

being built by the

Polish People's Republic The Polish People's Republic ( pl, Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa, PRL) was a country in Central Europe that existed from 1947 to 1989 as the predecessor of the modern Republic of Poland. With a population of approximately 37.9 million ne ...

, but soon returned home disillusioned with his work there. A year later, at 18 years-old, Kukuczka was found guilty of embezzlement and sentenced to two and a half years in prison in Nowy Sącz and

Jaworzno Jaworzno is a city in southern Poland, near Katowice. It lies in the Silesian Highlands, on the Przemsza river (a tributary of the Vistula). Jaworzno belongs to the historic province of Lesser Poland. The city is situated in the Silesian Voivod ...

, but was released after one year on

parole Parole (also known as provisional release or supervised release) is a form of early release of a prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by certain behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated parole officers, or ...

. Shortly after his release Kukuczka was married and would father three children, and subsequently worked again in construction before working as a firefighter for the fire department in Jaworzno. On Sunday, 3 March 1974, Kukuczka disappeared without a trace and was not seen again until appearing on 29 March 1974, in East Berlin,

.Biography
at Chronik der Mauer.de
at Gedenkstätte Berliner Mauer.de''Grenzübergang Friedrichstraße Forscher rekonstruieren Fall um Mauertoten'' (Researchers at the former Friedrichstraße border crossing reconstruct the case around masonry)
Berliner Zeitung Onliine, 6 November 2016

Death

On Friday, 29 March 1974, at 12:30 PM, Kukuczka arrived at the Polish Embassy in East Berlin claiming to have an important message, and was admitted to the embassy without further control. He would be hosted by Colonel Maksymilian Karnowski, a member of the East Berlin operational group of the Polish Ministry of the Interior (MSW), and an employee named Olszewski. Kukuczka demanded that he be allowed to cross into

at 3:00 PM, via the border crossing and international train station at

Friedrichstraße The Friedrichstraße () (lit. ''Frederick Street'') is a major culture and shopping street in central Berlin, forming the core of the Friedrichstadt neighborhood and giving the name to Berlin Friedrichstraße station. It runs from the northern pa ...

, and threatened to detonate a bomb that he was carrying with him, with the

detonating cord Detonating cord (also called detonation cord, detacord, detcord, primer cord, or sun cord) is a thin, flexible plastic tube usually filled with pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN, pentrite). With the PETN exploding at a rate of approximately ...

connected to his left hand. Kukuczka also claimed that if his demands were not met, a supposed accomplice would bomb the Polish Information and Cultural Center on

Karl-Liebknecht-Straße Karl-Liebknecht-Straße is a major street in the central Mitte district of the German capital Berlin. It is named after Karl Liebknecht (1871–1919), one of the founders of the Communist Party of Germany. The street connects the Unter den Lind ...

, and the events would be reported about in the

western world The Western world, also known as the West, primarily refers to the various nations and states in the regions of Europe, North America, and Oceania.

because of another accomplice he claimed to have in West Berlin. Further in his conversation, Kukuczka indicated wishing to immigrate to the United States where he had aunts, and according to documents found on his person their address was in the city of Hollywood, Florida. Kukuczka was counting on Polish embassy personnel to create the necessary travel documents so he could leave East Berlin, which they did provide him with. Kukuczka departed the Polish Embassy at 2:40 PM with the necessary documents, and was transported to Bahnhof Friedrichstraße by a car belonging to the Stasi, the East German

secret police Secret police (or political police) are intelligence, security or police agencies that engage in covert operations against a government's political, religious, or social opponents and dissidents. Secret police organizations are characteristic of ...

. He disembarked at the train station, used the rest room, then attempted to make his way through the border security.

West German West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

students visiting from

Bad Hersfeld The festival and spa town of Bad Hersfeld (''Bad'' is "spa" in German; the Old High German name of the city was ''Herolfisfeld'') is the district seat of the Hersfeld-Rotenburg district in northeastern Hesse, Germany, roughly 50 km southe ...

reported to police in West Berlin later that Kukuczka, shabbily dressed, walked past them toward the crossing. As they watched, Kukuczka was shot in the back from a distance of two meters by a civilian wearing a dark coat and tinted sunglasses. Kukuczka, who was seriously injured but still alive, was then taken away by ambulance. While most persons injured at the Berlin Wall were normally taken to the nearby Krankenhaus der Volkspolizei (Hospital of the People's Police), Kukuczka was taken instead to the infirmary in the Stasi prison at

Hohenschönhausen Hohenschönhausen () was a borough of Berlin, that existed from 1985 until Berlin's 2001 administrative reform. It comprised the localities of Alt-Hohenschönhausen (the core of the borough), Neu-Hohenschönhausen, Malchow, Wartenberg and F ...

, 10 kilometers away. By 6:30 PM, Kukuczka was dead from numerous internal injuries caused by the

gunshot wounds A gunshot wound (GSW) is a penetrating injury caused by a projectile (e.g. a bullet) from a gun (typically firearm or air gun). Damages may include bleeding, bone fractures, organ damage, wound infection, loss of the ability to move part ...

. Kukuczka's widow in Poland, Emilia, was presented with an

urn An urn is a vase, often with a cover, with a typically narrowed neck above a rounded body and a footed pedestal. Describing a vessel as an "urn", as opposed to a vase or other terms, generally reflects its use rather than any particular shape or ...

containing his remains on 24 May 1974, along with a package containing personal effects from her deceased husband, and a

death certificate A death certificate is either a legal document issued by a medical practitioner which states when a person died, or a document issued by a government civil registration office, that declares the date, location and cause of a person's death, as ...

, all presented by the district prosecutor. The next day, the mayor of Kamienica reported that a church burial had taken place with only Kukuczka's close family in attendance, and the full details regarding his death, such as the fake bomb and the visit to the embassy, were not made known to the family or local residents until after the Berlin Wall fell.

Trial

A trial against Kukuczka's alleged murderer will begin at the Berlin Regional Court on March 14, 2024.https://www.berliner-zeitung.de/mensch-metropole/toedlicher-schuss-vor-50-jahren-an-ddr-kontrollpunkt-ex-stasi-mann-in-berlin-wegen-mordes-vor-gericht-li.2195412

Aftermath

Kukuczka is notable as one of only three known escapee deaths at the Berlin Wall to be neither

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

or an East German resident, along with Franciszek Piesik, also Polish, and Vladimir Odinzov, a Soviet soldier.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kukuczka, Czesław 1935 births 1974 deaths Deaths at the Berlin Wall People from Limanowa County Deaths by firearm in East Germany Polish people murdered abroad People convicted of embezzlement Polish defectors

Biography

Death

Trial

Aftermath

See also

References