Berlin Wall Escapes1961–1989

14 February 1972 · Swimming

Manfred Weylandt – shot in the Spree

Stoker Manfred Weylandt crossed the border installations and entered the Spree near the Schillingbrücke late at night; two guards shot him in the head and he drowned.

A tall memorial plaque with a list of names of people killed at the Berlin Wall on the Spree.
Memorial plaque on the May-Ayim-Ufer in Kreuzberg, on the Spree near the Oberbaumbrücke, listing people killed at the Wall's water border, including Manfred Weylandt (photographed 2012) Photo: OTFW, Berlin. Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

Manfred Weylandt was born in Berlin on 12 July 1942 and worked as an auxiliary stoker at a plant near Ostbahnhof. Having been convicted several times, he did not want to face another prison sentence.

Around 11.30 p.m. on 14 February 1972 he got past the border installations and entered the Spree near the Schillingbrücke. When he did not respond to their calls, two border guards fired from the hip.

A street in East Berlin in 1990 leading towards the Schillingbrücke, with checkpoint installations ahead.
Köpenicker Straße looking towards the Schillingbrücke on 11 April 1990, when the crossing was still a checkpoint in the months after the Wall opened Photo: Roehrensee. Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Hit in the back of the head, he sank and drowned. Divers found his body near the Schillingbrücke the following afternoon; the body was concealed during transport and cremated on 13 March 1972.

The day after the shooting the two guards received a border troops' performance badge and 150 marks each. On 17 June 1993 the Berlin Regional Court convicted both of manslaughter and gave them suspended sentences of one year and ten months.

Sources

  1. Weylandt, ManfredChronik der Mauer
  2. Todesopfer im GrenzflussEast Side Gallery (Stiftung Berliner Mauer)

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