21 November 1975 · Over the wall
Thirty rounds near the Waßmannsdorfer Chaussee
On the evening of 21 November 1975 two Kreuzberg residents saw an East German guard fire about 30 rounds from an automatic weapon at an unarmed man trying to cross from the Schönefeld area into the American sector. He lay still for ten minutes before a military vehicle took him away.
At about 10 p.m. on 21 November 1975 an unarmed man tried to cross from the Schönefeld area of the GDR into the American sector of West Berlin near the Waßmannsdorfer Chaussee, on the southern edge of Neukölln.
Two residents of the Kreuzberg district who witnessed the scene reported that NVA border guards fired roughly 30 rounds at him from an automatic weapon. The man was hit several times, fell and lay motionless for about ten minutes before a GDR military vehicle took him away.
The US Mission, acting as chairman among the three Allies, cleared a press statement on 22 November but held it back over the weekend until the West Berlin police had confirmed that the witnesses were credible. Released on 24 November, it said the US commandant, together with the French and British commandants, deplored 'this cruel and excessive use of force against an unarmed man'.
The telegram does not name the man or say whether he survived.
Sources
- Allies condemn shooting incident at the Wall (telegram 1975USBERL02344, 24 November 1975)US National Archives, Access to Archival Databases (Central Foreign Policy Files, RG 59)
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