25 September 1973 · Over the wall
Thirty rounds at four escapers opposite Kohlhasenbrück
On the evening of 25 September 1973 East German border guards fired about thirty rounds at four people apparently trying to cross into the American sector opposite Kohlhasenbrück. The four were led away; several bullets hit apartments on the West Berlin side.
At 7.44 p.m. local time on 25 September 1973 four would-be escapers were approaching the boundary of the American sector near Kohlhasenbrück. East German border guards opened fire on them. The four were later seen being led away from the border.
According to the statement the US Mission issued the next day, the guards fired about thirty rounds. Several of them struck in and around apartment buildings in the American sector, which the US Commandant, speaking together with his French and British colleagues, called a reckless use of armed force that seriously endangered innocent people.
A witness reported that an automatic firing device, like those used on the inner-German border but not seen around Berlin until then, had been set off before the tower opened fire. The US Mission reported that this was not confirmed; the police thought the escapers had more likely tripped a warning device than a firing device.
Nothing is recorded about the identity of the four or what happened to them after their arrest.
Sources
- Incident at the Wall (telegram 1973BERLIN01661, 26 September 1973)US National Archives, Access to Archival Databases (Central Foreign Policy Files, RG 59)
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