24 November 1969 · Over the wall
Two men shot trying to reach the American sector on one day
On 24 November 1969 East German guards shot two men in separate attempts to cross into West Berlin's American sector: a border guard trying to scale the Wall, and a youth fired on with a machine gun in the fortified strip.
On 24 November 1969, in separate incidents, East German guards shot two men who were trying to cross into West Berlin's American sector. In the morning a border guard trying to scale the Wall was shot by another guard; West Berlin patrolmen saw his seemingly lifeless body lying unattended near the foot of the Wall for more than two hours. In the afternoon, at another spot along the border, guards opened fire with a machine gun on a youth who had got into the fortified strip; he collapsed and was carried away.
West Berlin police officials said one of the men was believed dead. The US commander in Berlin, Major General Robert G. Fergusson, condemned the shootings as 'inhuman acts'.
Sources
- East German Guards Shoot 2 Attempting to Flee to West (25 November 1969)The New York Times
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