Introduction
The Berlin Wall separated the East Berlin and the West Berlin from 1961 to 1989. The Berlin Wall was more than 140 kilometres long. In June 1962, a parallel fence was built some 100 meters father into East Germany territory. The Berlin Wall and the closing of the border stopped the flow of emigrants.
Chris Gueffroy was the last person to be shot in an escape attempt while trying to escape from East Berlin to West Berlin. He and his friend, Christian Gaudian, decided to leave East Germany. They climbed the metal lattice fence of the Berlin Wall. They were discovered. The National People’s Army border troops shot them. Gueffroy was hit in the chest by two shots. He died in the border strip. Gaudian was badly injured, was arrested and sentenced to 3 years imprisonment.
The fall of the Berlin Wall began in the evening of 9 November 1989. On 3 October 1990, Germany was officially united.
Not everything that is legal is right
According to the New York Times dated 21 January 1992, two former East German border guards were convicted of having shot Chris Gueffroy. One of the guards, Ingo Heinrich, told the court:
“At that time, I was following the laws and commands of the German Democratic Republic.”
But the Judge, Theodor Seidel, said, as he pronounced the sentences:
“Not everything that is legal is right.”
Heinrich was sentenced to three and a half years in prison on a charge of manslaughter.
According to the AP News dated 15 March 1994, he appealed. The Germany’s Supreme Court allowed the appeal and ordered a retrial.
Upon retrial, he was convicted and given a 2-year suspended sentence.
Mike Schmidt, the commander of Heinrich, was acquitted. He ordered Heinrich to shoot Gueffroy. The court could not establish whether or not Schmidt had wanted Gueffroy killed or only tried to prevent his escape.
Epilogue
Michael J. Sandel is an American political philosopher. He has taught the Justice course at the Harvard University for 2 decades. His on-line course, Justice: what’s the right thing to do?, is freely available. It has been viewed by tens of millions of people around the world.