In a new trial, the GDR escapee Werner Weinhold is sentenced to five and a half years in prison for the manslaughter of two GDR border soldiers during his escape on 19 December. The sentence is upheld by the Federal High Court on 23 August 1979. Weinhold had been acquitted of the charge of manslaughter at first instance on 2 December 1976.
17 December
1978
OPEC raises the price of oil by an average of ten percent, triggering the first oil-price crisis among its Western buyers.
