25 December 1983 · Over the wall
Silvio Proksch shot on Christmas Day at Pankow cemetery
On Christmas evening 1983 the 21-year-old bricklayer climbed the cemetery fence into the border strip without any plan and was shot; he bled to death before he received treatment.
Silvio Proksch was born on 3 March 1962. On 25 December 1983, at around 7 p.m., the 21-year-old bricklayer left his parents' home with his brother. Both had been drinking heavily. According to his brother, Silvio said he wanted freedom and that everything here made him sick.
Without any preparation he climbed the fence of the Pankow municipal cemetery, which bordered the inner wall of the border strip. At around 7:30 p.m. a border guard fired two warning shots and then fired at him. A bullet struck his hip and severed the artery and vein; he collapsed before he reached the concrete wall.
He received no medical help for a long time and bled to death. He was declared dead at 9:15 p.m. at the People's Police Hospital in Berlin-Mitte. Later medical assessments concluded that immediate treatment would very likely have saved his life.
The Stasi kept his death secret, took possession of the body and interrogated the family. His brother was imprisoned for more than two years and afterwards banned from Berlin. The guard who fired the fatal shot received the Bronze Medal of the Border Troops.
In November 1994 the former guard was convicted of manslaughter and given a probationary sentence. Silvio Proksch's body has never been found.
Sources
Whose account is this? Drawn from a Western official record, a press report and historical research.
Western official records
- Urteil des Landgerichts Berlin in der Strafsache gegen Steffen Michael S. (Auszüge, Az. 2 Js 98/90; Fall Silvio Proksch, erschossen an der Berliner Mauer)Chronik der Mauer (document: Staatsanwaltschaft Berlin, Az. 2 Js 98/90)
Press
- Nach den Todesschüssen wurde gefeiert (29 May 1992)taz (adn/dpa)
Historians and memorials
- Proksch, SilvioChronik der Mauer
- Die Todesopfer an der Berliner Mauer 1961-1989 (Hertle/Nooke, 2017)Zentrum für Zeithistorische Forschung Potsdam / Stiftung Berliner Mauer
Facts checked against the sources: October 2026
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Cite this page
Berlin Experiences, “Silvio Proksch shot on Christmas Day at Pankow cemetery”, Berlin Wall Escapes, 2026, https://berlinwallescapes.com/escapes/silvio-proksch-1983/ (accessed [date]).
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