22 January 1973 · Hidden in vehicles
15-month-old Holger H. suffocates during his parents' escape
A young couple hid with their baby son in crates on a West Berlin acquaintance's truck. They passed the Drewitz checkpoint undetected, but when the crates were opened in the West, 15-month-old Holger was no longer breathing.
Little is known about Ingrid and Klaus H. They had met on a youth trip to Moscow and were certain they did not want to spend their lives, or raise their son, in the GDR. Klaus H. had tried to flee across the Baltic with friends at 17 and had been branded a 'Republikflüchtling' ever since, which limited his career.
One January night in 1973 a truck belonging to a West Berlin acquaintance stopped at a car park on the transit autobahn. The couple climbed onto the loading area with their 15-month-old son and hid in large crates declared as empties – the 23-year-old father in one, the 20-year-old mother and the child in another. The inspection at the Drewitz crossing took longer than usual, the driver later told West Berlin police.
When the baby began to cry, his mother tried in vain to calm him and, in her fear, held his mouth shut. Holger had a middle-ear infection and bronchitis and could not breathe through his nose.
The family passed the checkpoint undetected. After another 300 metres the crates were opened; at the western checkpoint Dreilinden Ingrid H. held out the motionless child to the helpers. All attempts at resuscitation failed. Holger H. is the youngest person counted among the victims of the Berlin Wall.
Sources
Whose account is this? Drawn from a GDR record, press reports and historical research.
GDR records
- Jahrgang 1977: Verhaftung eines Westberliners an der GÜST Heinrich-Heine-Straße – Information Nr. 216/77Stasi-Unterlagen-Archiv (DDR im Blick)
Press
- Kinder als Maueropfer: Jung, unschuldig, totDer Tagesspiegel
- Landeshauptstadt: MAUEROPFERPotsdamer Neueste Nachrichten / Der Tagesspiegel (12 Aug 2006)
Historians and memorials
- H., Holger | Chronik der MauerChronik der Mauer (bpb / ZZF Potsdam / Deutschlandradio)
Facts checked against the sources: September 2026
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Cite this page
Berlin Experiences, “15-month-old Holger H. suffocates during his parents' escape”, Berlin Wall Escapes, 2026, https://berlinwallescapes.com/escapes/holger-h-drewitz-1973/ (accessed [date]).
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