Henri Weise found drowned in the Spree at the Marschallbrücke

Henri Weise was born in 1954 in Pößneck and grew up in Ranis, Thuringia. He trained as a toolmaker at VEB Carl Zeiss Jena and later worked as a window cleaner, rock driller and heating fitter. In May 1976 he applied to emigrate to West Germany, writing that he had no interest in working for the GDR.

In August 1976 he was arrested on the Elbe dike near Wittenberge on suspicion of attempting to cross the border illegally. He denied any escape plan and was released in October 1976, when he was also told his application had been rejected. A second application was finally refused in November 1976. From January 1977 the Stasi kept him under an 'operational person check', aiming to prove he intended to flee; he also visited the West German Permanent Mission in East Berlin.

On 17 May 1977 he travelled to Berlin to see his father. After a few hours he left the flat saying he would be back in half an hour. Where he went is not known. The Chronik der Mauer concludes that he probably tried to get across the Spree to West Berlin and died in the attempt.

On the morning of 27 July 1977 border soldiers opening the water barrier at the Marschallbrücke water border crossing in Berlin-Mitte found a body caught in it. It was badly decomposed and had probably been in the water for about two months. The pathologist could not establish the cause of death but found no signs of violence; the body was identified from an old jaw injury and the teeth.

He was cremated in Berlin on 1 September 1977 and his urn buried in Ranis. His mother was not allowed to see the body. A post-unification investigation was closed in September 1995 because the cause and circumstances of death could not be established.