Günter Litfin (19 January 1937 – 24 August 1961) was a German tailor who became the
second known person to die at the
Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall (, ) was a guarded concrete Separation barrier, barrier that encircled West Berlin from 1961 to 1989, separating it from East Berlin and the East Germany, German Democratic Republic (GDR; East Germany). Construction of the B ...
. Litfin was the first victim to be killed by
East German border troops, the first to succumb to
gunshot wounds, and the first male victim.
Biography
Günter Litfin was born on 19 January 1937 in Berlin, along with a twin brother, Alois, who was murdered by a Nazi physician during World War II.
[Der Kommunismus ist ein Scheißhaufen ohne Ende! (Communism is a turd heap without end!)]
Focus Online, 9 October 2014
Litfin lived in
East Germany
East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...
, in the borough of
Weißensee of
East Berlin
East Berlin (; ) was the partially recognised capital city, capital of East Germany (GDR) from 1949 to 1990. From 1945, it was the Allied occupation zones in Germany, Soviet occupation sector of Berlin. The American, British, and French se ...
, and like his father Albert (a butcher) was a member of the illegal local branch of the
Christian Democrats Union, the centre-right
West German political party. A tailor by trade, Litfin was a
Grenzgänger (cross-border commuter) working near the
Zoological Garden
A zoo (short for zoological garden; also called an animal park or menagerie) is a facility where animals are kept within enclosures for public exhibition and often bred for Conservation biology, conservation purposes.
The term ''zoological garden ...
in West Berlin. On 13 August 1961, the border between East Berlin and West Berlin was abruptly closed by East Germany, effectively trapping him in East Berlin. Shortly before the border was closed, Litfin had found an apartment in
Charlottenburg
Charlottenburg () is a Boroughs and localities of Berlin, locality of Berlin within the borough of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf. Established as a German town law, town in 1705 and named after Sophia Charlotte of Hanover, Queen consort of Kingdom ...
, West Berlin, closer to his workplace, and on 12 August, only the day before, he had driven to Charlottenburg with his brother Jürgen to furnish his new apartment. Litfin's intention to escape East Germany was abruptly halted the next morning, as
road blocks had already been placed and the first
barbed wire fences of the
Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall (, ) was a guarded concrete Separation barrier, barrier that encircled West Berlin from 1961 to 1989, separating it from East Berlin and the East Germany, German Democratic Republic (GDR; East Germany). Construction of the B ...
were built.
Death
On 24 August, at around 4 pm, Litfin attempted to illegally escape by swimming from Humboldthafen, a small harbour in the river
Spree, on a planned route through a small canal branching off from the river westwards into West Berlin.
[Short portrait of Günter Litfin at Chronik der Mauer]
/ref> However, upon crossing the railway bridge that constituted the border, Litfin was discovered by officers of the East German transportation police, and was ordered to immediately swim back. Litfin lifted his hands from the water to exit the river on the West Berlin side, and was then shot and killed.
Litfin was buried at the St. Hedwig Cemetery, in Weißensee, on 31 August 1961. The presence of Stasi
The Ministry for State Security (, ; abbreviated MfS), commonly known as the (, an abbreviation of ), was the Intelligence agency, state security service and secret police of East Germany from 1950 to 1990. It was one of the most repressive pol ...
personnel at the burial ensured that the truth behind his death was not openly revealed. According to his brother Jürgen, the funeral was "a farce" since most at the mourning knew that his brother's death was no accident, and that he had been killed for trying to leave East Germany.
Aftermath
In memory of Günter Litfin, as well as all other victims of the Wall, a memorial was established in 1992 on the initiative of Jürgen Litfin (Günter Litfin's younger brother). It is located in the watchtower of the former "Kieler Eck" on the Berlin-Spandau Ship Canal.[Zorniges Gedenken an den ersten Mauertoten (Angry remembrance of the first Berlin Wall victim)](_blank)
Rheinische Post, 10 August 2011, page A6. In addition, on 24 August 2000, the Weißensee street formerly named Straße 209 was renamed Günter-Litfin-Straße.[https://berlin.kauperts.de/Strassen/Guenter-Litfin-Strasse-13086-Berlin#Geschichte Kauperts, Straßenverzeichnis Berlin (Street directory Berlin), "Günter-Litfin-Straße"] Additionally, a street in his home district of Weißensee was named after him. One of the crosses at the White Crosses memorial site next to the Reichstag building is devoted to him.
After the fall of the Berlin Wall and the subsequent reunification of East and West Germany, the Berlin Regional Court found the border guard accused of shooting Litfin to be guilty of manslaughter
Manslaughter is a common law legal term for homicide considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is sometimes said to have first been made by the ancient Athenian lawmaker Draco in the 7th ce ...
, and sentenced him to 18 months prison, which was suspended.
Gallery
File:2010-03-20-mauer-berlin-by-RalfR-09.jpg, East German border guards retrieving the body of Günter Litfin from the River Spree
File:Gedenkstein Guenter Litfin.jpg, Memorial stone at Sandkrug Bridge/Invalidenstraße in Berlin
File:Berlin, Spreeufer, Gedenkkreuze für Maueropfer 01.jpg, The leftmost of the White Crosses is devoted to him
File:Günter-Litfin-Str Weißensee 110524 AMA fec (70).JPG, Günter-Litfin-Straße in Weißensee
File:Heinersdorferstrasse32 a.jpg, Last East Berlin residence of Günter Litfin, Heinersdorfer Straße 32, Weißensee, front view
File:Heinersdorferstrasse32 c.jpg, Last East Berlin residence of Günter Litfin, Heinersdorfer Straße 32, Weißensee, side view
File:Sthedwigsfriedhoftor.jpg, Main gate at the St Hedwig's Cemetery, Smetanastraße 36-54, Weißensee, where Günter Litfin was buried in 1961
File:G%C3%BCnter_Litfin_memorial_stone_(aka).jpg, Memorial stone to Günter Litfin at the former guard tower, now the Günter Litfin Gedenkstätte, in Berlin
File:1943cover.pdf, Cover of the Berliner Adressbuch 1943. Internal pages used in the discussion of Günter Litfin, and other Berlin Wall victims
File:1943p1804.pdf, Page 1804 of the Berliner Adressbuch 1943, used in the discussion of Günter Litfin
See also
* List of deaths at the Berlin Wall
* Berlin Crisis of 1961
References
Literature
* Jürgen Litfin: ''Tod durch fremde Hand. Das erste Maueropfer in Berlin und die Geschichte einer Familie''. Verlag der Nation, Husum 2006, .
* Mathias Mesenhöller: ''Die grausame Mauer''. In: '' Geo'', 08/2011, p. 73.
* Christine Brecht: ''Günter Litfin'', in: ''Die Todesopfer an der Berliner Mauer 1961–1989. Ein biographisches Handbuch.'' Links, Berlin 2009, , pp. 37–39.
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Litfin
1937 births
1961 deaths
Deaths at the Berlin Wall
People from East Berlin
Deaths by firearm in East Germany
1960s in Berlin
German twins
People from Pankow
East German defectors
German tailors
20th-century tailors