Horst Kutscher (July 5, 1931 – January 15, 1963) was a German coal apprentice and the 36th person to die trying to cross the Berlin Wall from East Berlin to West Berlin.

Horst Kutscher
Born
Horst Kutscher

(1931-07-05)July 5, 1931
Berlin, Weimar Germany
DiedJanuary 15, 1963(1963-01-15) (aged 31)
Rudowerstrasse, border between Treptow and Neukölln
Occupation(s)auto mechanic, informant, construction worker, coal merchant
Known forbeing shot while escaping East Germany

Early life

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Kutscher was born on July 5, 1931, in Treptow, the fourth of 13 children to a mechanical engineer and a flower seller.[1]

Biography

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In April 1956, he fled to West Germany, with his wife and children later following him. A year later, he and his family returned to Berlin-Treptow. He worked as a "border-crosser" in the West until the border was closed in August 1961.[2]

Death

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On January 15, 1963, at the border near Rudower Strasse at the sector border between Berlin-Treptow and Berlin-Neukölln, Kutscher slid under the barbed-wire fence and then along the security trenches with 25 meters left when he was fatally shot in the head.[3][2]

After the collapse of East Germany, Kutscher’s ex-wife was a witness in the trial against the guard who shot Kutscher. In August 1997, the former guard was sentenced to one year and three months' probation.[2]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Baron, Udo (24 December 2018). The Victims at the Berlin Wall 1961-1989: A Biographical Handbook. Ch. Links Verlag. ISBN 9783861536321 – via Google Books.
  2. ^ a b c "Chronicle of the Wall: Victims at the wall -". Centre for Contemporary History Potsdam.
  3. ^ Kephart, Beth (1 April 2014). Going Over. Chronicle Books. ISBN 9781452132341 – via Google Books.
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