Chronicle of the Berlin Wall 1982 | Chronicle of the Wall

March

15 March
1982

The European Community reacts to the imposition of martial law in Poland by restricting imports of products from the Soviet Union.
25 March
1982

The GDR Volkskammer passes a "Border Law". For the first time, the SED leadership gives a legal façade to fatal shootings at the border. more
Law regarding the State Border of the GDR ("Border Law"), 25 March 1982 (in German)Colonel General Klaus-Dieter Baumgarten, "If necessary, hit them with the first shot", speech synopsis, 9 July 1982 (in German)Notes to Clarify Political-Ideological Problems regarding the Use of Firearms during Border Service, classified document issued by the Political Administration of the GDR border troops, 10 May 1982 (in German)
29 March
1982

A farmer from a Thuringian border town near Bad Soden-Allendorf drives a bucket excavator to the outermost border fence and jumps down onto the western side of the fence from the vehicle. GDR border guards fire warning shots before shooting to kill the escapee.

The West German Federal Border Guards positioned only a few metres away cannot intervene, because the escapee is still in GDR territory.

RIAS report on the fatal end of an attempted escape at the inner-German border on a bucket excavator, 29 March 1982 (in German) (Source: Archiv Deutschlandradio, Broadcast: Rundschau am Abend, Moderator/Reporter: Philip Peter Schmidt, Rainer Schumann)
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