By Kan Zhong Guo staff
East German border guards try to prevent a crowd climbing onto the Berlin Wall in 1989 (Pic: Getty Images)
This story took place in September 1991, in a courthouse in Germany, following the fall of the Berlin Wall. Shortly after the East and West Germany were reunited—a landmark verdict was handed down, receiving worldwide attention. Four men, under 30 years of age, and several former East German border guards, faced murder charges.
Twenty-one years ago, Chris Gueffroy, who just turned 20, and his companion, Christian Gaudian, tried to climb over the Berlin Wall in an attempt to escape East Germany. After a few rounds were fired, it was discovered that Gueffroy suffered gunshot wounds to his chest, and Gaudian was shot in the ankle. Gueffroy, who died shortly after the shooting, was the last known casualty before the fall of the Wall.
The East German border guard, Ingo Heinrich, never could have imagined that he would be tried for attempted manslaughter—less than nine months after the fall of the Wall.
A Berlin court later sentenced Heinrich to 3 1/2 years in jail, without probation, for the shooting death of Mr. Gueffroy. Heinrich’s lawyer argued that the border guards were merely obeying the law and should not be held accountable—as they had no right to choose otherwise. However, on the day of Heinrich’s sentencing, the presiding judge said:
The East Germany shoot-to-kill policy asks you to kill, but you knew, for sure, that those escapees, who were trying to flee from a tyrant power, were innocent. It is considered murder to kill a man when you know he is innocent. As a law enforcement officer, you would be held libel for disobeying a command, but not guilty for aiming inaccurately. At that very moment, as a conscious man, you could have made your own decision by aiming the gun 1cm (less than ½ an inch) higher, as dictated by your conscience.
Comments: We should always consult with our conscience before we do something. There really are no excuses for ignoring this unwritten law. Man-made laws will never supersede the laws of nature.
