Günter Litfin

Günter Litfin
Günter Litfin
Born	(1937-01-19)19 January 1937 Berlin
Died	24 August 1961(1961-08-24) (aged 24) Spandauer Schifffahrtskanal
Cause of death	Shot by a guard whilst attempting to leave East Berlin
Body discovered	Spandauer Schifffahrtskanal 52°31′39″N 13°22′25″E / 52.527628°N 13.373685°E / 52.527628; 13.373685 (Site of Günter Litfin memorial)
Resting place	Saint Hedwig Cemetery 52°32′46″N 13°27′38″E / 52.54619°N 13.4605°E / 52.54619; 13.4605 (St. Hedwig Cemetery in Berlin-Weissensee)
Monuments	Sandkrugbrücke, Invalidenstraße, Berlin
Residence	Weißensee, Berlin
Known for	First person to be shot whilst attempting to escape across the Berlin Wall
Political party	Christian Democratic Union

Günter Litfin (19 January 1937 – 24 August 1961) was the second victim at the Berlin Wall, and the first to succumb to gunshots.

A tailor from the borough of Weißensee, like his father, he was a member of the illegal local branch of the West German Christian Democrats. Litfin was already working in the West, near the Zoological Garden, and had already found a flat in the western part of the city. Even on 12 August, one day before the first barbed wire fences were built, he had driven to Charlottenburg with his brother, to furnish his new flat. His intention to escape East Germany was abruptly halted the next morning, as road blocks had already been built. Therefore, around 4pm on 24 August, he undertook the escape attempt that would prove fatal to him.

Starting from Humboldthafen, a small harbour in the River Spree, his plan was to swim through a small canal branching off from the river westwards. However, upon crossing the railway bridge that constituted the border, he was discovered by officers of the transportation police, and was ordered to swim back. He lifted his hands from the water and was then fired upon and mortally wounded.

In memory of Günter Litfin as well as all other victims of the Wall, a memorial was installed in 1992. Additionally, a street in his home district of Weißensee was named after him. One of the crosses at the White Crosses memorial site next to the Reichstag building is devoted to him.

Gallery

• 

  Memorial stone at Sandkrug Bridge/Invalidenstraße in Berlin

• 

  The leftmost of the White Crosses is devoted to him

• 

  Günter-Litfin-Straße in Weißensee

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Günter Litfin.

• Jürgen Litfin: Tod durch fremde Hand. Das erste Maueropfer in Berlin und die Geschichte einer Familie. Verlag der Nation, Husum 2006

v t e The Berlin Wall Main article Berlin Wall Related articles Inner German border Iron Curtain Wall of Shame East Berlin West Berlin German reunification Eastern Bloc emigration and defection Republikflucht Berlin Crisis of 1961 Memorials, museums and galleries White Crosses East Side Gallery Checkpoint Charlie Museum Topography of Terror Mauerpark Chapel of Reconciliation Crossings Berlin border crossings Checkpoint Charlie Checkpoint Bravo Berlin Friedrichstraße station Tränenpalast, Friedrichstrasse station Deaths from breaching the Wall List of deaths at the Berlin Wall Ida Siekmann Günter Litfin Marienetta Jirkowsky Chris Gueffroy Peter Fechter Winfried Freudenberg Heinz Sokolowski Hildegard Trabant Other people connected to the Wall Günter Schabowski Riccardo Ehrman Conrad Schumann The Wall in speeches Ich bin ein Berliner Tear down this wall! The Wall in popular culture The Tunnel (NBC documentary) The Wall (1962 film) The Road to the Wall Das Versprechen The Tunnel (2001 film) Good Bye, Lenin! Sonnenallee The Berlin Wall (video game) "Nikita" "West of the Wall" "The Soldier" Other List of Berlin Wall segments Ghost station Book:Berlin Wall