Study shows at least 136 died at Berlin Wall

At least 136 people died between 1961 and 1989 at the Berlin wall, two more than previously thought, researchers announced on Thursday.

Published: 7 August 2008 17:20 CEST

Study shows at least 136 died at Berlin Wall

A Berliner relaxes along the one-deadly Berlin Wall. Photo: DPA

A joint research project by the Berlin Wall Documentation Centre and the Centre for Research on Contemporary History in Potsam found the two previously unattributed deaths while investigating 374 cases, project leader Hans-Hermann Hertle said on Thursday in Potsdam. Some 16 cases are still being researched.

Historians have long disagreed on the total number of deaths at the wall that divided western and eastern Berlin. Some counts failed to include drowned victims despite the fact that half of all attempts to flee East Berlin were over water, Hertle told German press agency DPA.

The numbers announced on Thursday are based on court documents and interviews with witnesses, Hertle said. Among the 136 victims are 30 people who had no intention to flee and well as eight East German border guards.

Biographies of victims and information about the Berlin Wall are available in German and English at www.chronik-der-mauer.de.