Egon Schultz was a non-commissioned officer of the East German Border Troops, who, at 21, was killed by friendly fire. At the time of his death, he was responding to the discovery of what would eventually be known as “Tunnel 57”.
Egon was born in Groß Jestin, Kolberg-Körlin county, Pomerania (now Goœcino, Ko³obrzeg County, West Pomeranian Voivodeship, in north-western Poland. He was the younger of two sons of Alfred Schultz, a truck driver, and his wife Frieda, a waitress. He trained as a school teacher in Putbus, and began a teaching career at Rostock-Dierkow in September 1962. His teaching career would be interrupted with his conscription to the National People's Army. His older brother, Armin, was a painter, and at the time of Schultz’s conscription, the family resided at Karl-Marx-Strasse 16 in Rostock. His final visit home, just days prior to his death, was at the same time that his parents were celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary.
On October 4, 1964, Sergeant Schultz was assigned as a reserve to the command post at Arkonaplatz in Berlin-Mitte. Shortly before midnight, a Stasi officer demanded backup support from the border guards; they were to investigate and arrest suspicious individuals at Strelitzer Strasse 55, very close to the border barriers that extended along Bernauer Strasse. But Sergeant Schultz and his fellow border guards were not informed of the real purpose of the operation; the Stasi had learned from informants about an escape operation. While investigating the area near the border, the two Stasi agents met two men who were assisting an escape operation in the foyer of the building at Strelitzer Strasse 55. The escape helpers mistook the Stasi agents for fugitives. Claiming that they had to get a friend who had just been released from custody, the Stasi agents were able to leave the building, leaving the escape helpers to await their return while they organized support from the border guards.
Taking several months to accomplish, a group of West Berlin students dug a 145-meter long tunnel in secrecy, which began at a closed bakery on Bernauer Strasse, and continued eleven meters underground to an outhouse located in the courtyard of the building at Strelitzer Strasse 55. This tunnel later became famous as "Tunnel 57," referring to the number of people who had succeeded in escaping through it the nights of October 3 and October 4, 1964. One of the escape helpers was Reinhard Furrer, the future astronaut. He waited with Christian Zobel and two other escape helpers on the East Berlin side, ready to direct fugitives to the tunnel’s opening. At about half past midnight, the two aforementioned Stasi agents returned with the border soldiers. It was dark, and Reinhard Furrer recognized much too late that a gun was pointed in his direction. Familiar with the surroundings, he quickly receded into the courtyard and before disappearing into the tunnel, warned his friends of the danger. As Schultz and the Stasi agents entered the courtyard, there was an exchange of gunfire. Egon was hit in the shoulder by a bullet from Zobel’s gun. He fell to the ground, and was attempting to get back up when he was hit again by one of his fellow soldiers, using an AK-47. The escape helpers were able to rescue themselves at the last minute and enter the safety of the West. But there was no way to help Egon, who died on the way to the Krankenhaus der Volkspolizei.
The East German government gave the highest visibility to the funeral with full military honors for Egon in the Friedrich-Engels barracks in East Berlin, and again in his hometown, Rostock. When the coffin was transferred from East Berlin to Rostock, tens of thousands of workers followed government orders to line the streets and pay their last respects to Egon. He was buried in the Neuer Friedhof in Rostock. On the day of his funeral, the school in Rostock where he had been a teacher was given the honorary name “Egon Schlutz Oberschule” (Egon Schultz Secondary School). Eventually, more than a hundred collectives, schools and institutions were named after Egon Schultz.
Investigations were opened in East and West Berlin against the escape helpers. The escape helpers admitted to West Berlin investigators that one of them did fire a gun, but there was no proof that Egon was killed from that particular gunshot. The East German government claimed that Egon was tragically murdered by western agents.The East Berlin prosecutor’s office refused to cooperate with requests from the West Berlin investigation, and instead demanded the extradition of the “murder suspect“. It was known in 1964 that Egon was accidentally shot by his own comrades; the fatal shot came from a Kalishnikov, and not from an escape helper. The findings of this investigation, to include disappearance of the autopsy files from the Charité Hospital, would remain highly classified until October 1990, when the 1964 East Berlin files were given to the German federal judiciary. In November 1965, the West Berlin public prosecutor closed the case against the escape helpers, after charging them only a fine, for illegal possession of a weapon.
A memorial plaque was erected on January 4, 1965, on the house at Strelitzer Strasse 55, commemorating Schultz’s death and denouncing the West Berlin agents involved in the "assassination". The East Berlin part of Strelitzer Strasse (but not the West Berlin part) was renamed Egon-Schultz-Strasse on August 13, 1966. A children's book was written about him; almost every East German citizen knew his name from the school and the media.
The Egon Schultz saga drew great attention not only in East Germany, but also in the Federal Republic of Germany, because the Stern editor in chief Henri Nannen purchased exclusive rights to the tunnel in advance, essentially co-financing the building of Tunnel 57. This was partially responsible for increased tensions between the East and West German governments.
By 1992, prosecutions had begun against former border guards, charging them with murder or manslaughter. A case was opened with regard to Egon for suspicion of negligent homicide, involving investigation of all the people involved in the incident, including the Stasi agents and the border troops. The investigation concluded that Christian Zobel fired the first shot in order to prevent Reinhard Furrer and himself from being arrested. The bullet was lodged in Egon’s lung but did not kill him. The fatal shot came from the Kalashnikov of a border soldier who, on instructions from a Stasi officer, fired shots in the dark courtyard, unintentionally hitting Egon Schultz, who then died from internal bleeding. It was accepted by the court that the border soldier who had fired the deadly shot had acted in self-defense. In response to the investigation against the border guards and Stasi agents, in May 1994, private individuals pressed charges against Reinhard Furrer for supposedly murdering Egon. His mother Frieda, who had supported the accusation, was represented by a renowned West Berlin law firm. Additional charges were also filed with the Berlin public prosecutor’s office. When Reinhard Furrer died in an airplane accident in September 1995 and it became known that Christian Zobel had already passed away, the lawyers representing Egon’s mother filed charges against the other escape helpers as murder accomplices, which were eventually dropped.
In 2004, a memorial plaque was erected, replacing the one previously mounted (and subsequently disappeared after 1989) on the house at Strelitzer Strasse 55. This was done on the initiative of both, former escape helpers and friends of Egon Schultz, on the 40th anniversary of his death. Despite having served as an East German Border Troop who defended the Berlin Wall, and was sworn to prevent escapes under a shoot-to-kill order, Egon is also remembered as one of the at least 140 victims of the Berlin Wall.
Egon was born in Groß Jestin, Kolberg-Körlin county, Pomerania (now Goœcino, Ko³obrzeg County, West Pomeranian Voivodeship, in north-western Poland. He was the younger of two sons of Alfred Schultz, a truck driver, and his wife Frieda, a waitress. He trained as a school teacher in Putbus, and began a teaching career at Rostock-Dierkow in September 1962. His teaching career would be interrupted with his conscription to the National People's Army. His older brother, Armin, was a painter, and at the time of Schultz’s conscription, the family resided at Karl-Marx-Strasse 16 in Rostock. His final visit home, just days prior to his death, was at the same time that his parents were celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary.
On October 4, 1964, Sergeant Schultz was assigned as a reserve to the command post at Arkonaplatz in Berlin-Mitte. Shortly before midnight, a Stasi officer demanded backup support from the border guards; they were to investigate and arrest suspicious individuals at Strelitzer Strasse 55, very close to the border barriers that extended along Bernauer Strasse. But Sergeant Schultz and his fellow border guards were not informed of the real purpose of the operation; the Stasi had learned from informants about an escape operation. While investigating the area near the border, the two Stasi agents met two men who were assisting an escape operation in the foyer of the building at Strelitzer Strasse 55. The escape helpers mistook the Stasi agents for fugitives. Claiming that they had to get a friend who had just been released from custody, the Stasi agents were able to leave the building, leaving the escape helpers to await their return while they organized support from the border guards.
Taking several months to accomplish, a group of West Berlin students dug a 145-meter long tunnel in secrecy, which began at a closed bakery on Bernauer Strasse, and continued eleven meters underground to an outhouse located in the courtyard of the building at Strelitzer Strasse 55. This tunnel later became famous as "Tunnel 57," referring to the number of people who had succeeded in escaping through it the nights of October 3 and October 4, 1964. One of the escape helpers was Reinhard Furrer, the future astronaut. He waited with Christian Zobel and two other escape helpers on the East Berlin side, ready to direct fugitives to the tunnel’s opening. At about half past midnight, the two aforementioned Stasi agents returned with the border soldiers. It was dark, and Reinhard Furrer recognized much too late that a gun was pointed in his direction. Familiar with the surroundings, he quickly receded into the courtyard and before disappearing into the tunnel, warned his friends of the danger. As Schultz and the Stasi agents entered the courtyard, there was an exchange of gunfire. Egon was hit in the shoulder by a bullet from Zobel’s gun. He fell to the ground, and was attempting to get back up when he was hit again by one of his fellow soldiers, using an AK-47. The escape helpers were able to rescue themselves at the last minute and enter the safety of the West. But there was no way to help Egon, who died on the way to the Krankenhaus der Volkspolizei.
The East German government gave the highest visibility to the funeral with full military honors for Egon in the Friedrich-Engels barracks in East Berlin, and again in his hometown, Rostock. When the coffin was transferred from East Berlin to Rostock, tens of thousands of workers followed government orders to line the streets and pay their last respects to Egon. He was buried in the Neuer Friedhof in Rostock. On the day of his funeral, the school in Rostock where he had been a teacher was given the honorary name “Egon Schlutz Oberschule” (Egon Schultz Secondary School). Eventually, more than a hundred collectives, schools and institutions were named after Egon Schultz.
Investigations were opened in East and West Berlin against the escape helpers. The escape helpers admitted to West Berlin investigators that one of them did fire a gun, but there was no proof that Egon was killed from that particular gunshot. The East German government claimed that Egon was tragically murdered by western agents.The East Berlin prosecutor’s office refused to cooperate with requests from the West Berlin investigation, and instead demanded the extradition of the “murder suspect“. It was known in 1964 that Egon was accidentally shot by his own comrades; the fatal shot came from a Kalishnikov, and not from an escape helper. The findings of this investigation, to include disappearance of the autopsy files from the Charité Hospital, would remain highly classified until October 1990, when the 1964 East Berlin files were given to the German federal judiciary. In November 1965, the West Berlin public prosecutor closed the case against the escape helpers, after charging them only a fine, for illegal possession of a weapon.
A memorial plaque was erected on January 4, 1965, on the house at Strelitzer Strasse 55, commemorating Schultz’s death and denouncing the West Berlin agents involved in the "assassination". The East Berlin part of Strelitzer Strasse (but not the West Berlin part) was renamed Egon-Schultz-Strasse on August 13, 1966. A children's book was written about him; almost every East German citizen knew his name from the school and the media.
The Egon Schultz saga drew great attention not only in East Germany, but also in the Federal Republic of Germany, because the Stern editor in chief Henri Nannen purchased exclusive rights to the tunnel in advance, essentially co-financing the building of Tunnel 57. This was partially responsible for increased tensions between the East and West German governments.
By 1992, prosecutions had begun against former border guards, charging them with murder or manslaughter. A case was opened with regard to Egon for suspicion of negligent homicide, involving investigation of all the people involved in the incident, including the Stasi agents and the border troops. The investigation concluded that Christian Zobel fired the first shot in order to prevent Reinhard Furrer and himself from being arrested. The bullet was lodged in Egon’s lung but did not kill him. The fatal shot came from the Kalashnikov of a border soldier who, on instructions from a Stasi officer, fired shots in the dark courtyard, unintentionally hitting Egon Schultz, who then died from internal bleeding. It was accepted by the court that the border soldier who had fired the deadly shot had acted in self-defense. In response to the investigation against the border guards and Stasi agents, in May 1994, private individuals pressed charges against Reinhard Furrer for supposedly murdering Egon. His mother Frieda, who had supported the accusation, was represented by a renowned West Berlin law firm. Additional charges were also filed with the Berlin public prosecutor’s office. When Reinhard Furrer died in an airplane accident in September 1995 and it became known that Christian Zobel had already passed away, the lawyers representing Egon’s mother filed charges against the other escape helpers as murder accomplices, which were eventually dropped.
In 2004, a memorial plaque was erected, replacing the one previously mounted (and subsequently disappeared after 1989) on the house at Strelitzer Strasse 55. This was done on the initiative of both, former escape helpers and friends of Egon Schultz, on the 40th anniversary of his death. Despite having served as an East German Border Troop who defended the Berlin Wall, and was sworn to prevent escapes under a shoot-to-kill order, Egon is also remembered as one of the at least 140 victims of the Berlin Wall.
Egon Schultz was a non-commissioned officer of the East German Border Troops, who, at 21, was killed by friendly fire. At the time of his death, he was responding to the discovery of what would eventually be known as “Tunnel 57”.
Egon was born in Groß Jestin, Kolberg-Körlin county, Pomerania (now Goœcino, Ko³obrzeg County, West Pomeranian Voivodeship, in north-western Poland. He was the younger of two sons of Alfred Schultz, a truck driver, and his wife Frieda, a waitress. He trained as a school teacher in Putbus, and began a teaching career at Rostock-Dierkow in September 1962. His teaching career would be interrupted with his conscription to the National People's Army. His older brother, Armin, was a painter, and at the time of Schultz’s conscription, the family resided at Karl-Marx-Strasse 16 in Rostock. His final visit home, just days prior to his death, was at the same time that his parents were celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary.
On October 4, 1964, Sergeant Schultz was assigned as a reserve to the command post at Arkonaplatz in Berlin-Mitte. Shortly before midnight, a Stasi officer demanded backup support from the border guards; they were to investigate and arrest suspicious individuals at Strelitzer Strasse 55, very close to the border barriers that extended along Bernauer Strasse. But Sergeant Schultz and his fellow border guards were not informed of the real purpose of the operation; the Stasi had learned from informants about an escape operation. While investigating the area near the border, the two Stasi agents met two men who were assisting an escape operation in the foyer of the building at Strelitzer Strasse 55. The escape helpers mistook the Stasi agents for fugitives. Claiming that they had to get a friend who had just been released from custody, the Stasi agents were able to leave the building, leaving the escape helpers to await their return while they organized support from the border guards.
Taking several months to accomplish, a group of West Berlin students dug a 145-meter long tunnel in secrecy, which began at a closed bakery on Bernauer Strasse, and continued eleven meters underground to an outhouse located in the courtyard of the building at Strelitzer Strasse 55. This tunnel later became famous as "Tunnel 57," referring to the number of people who had succeeded in escaping through it the nights of October 3 and October 4, 1964. One of the escape helpers was Reinhard Furrer, the future astronaut. He waited with Christian Zobel and two other escape helpers on the East Berlin side, ready to direct fugitives to the tunnel’s opening. At about half past midnight, the two aforementioned Stasi agents returned with the border soldiers. It was dark, and Reinhard Furrer recognized much too late that a gun was pointed in his direction. Familiar with the surroundings, he quickly receded into the courtyard and before disappearing into the tunnel, warned his friends of the danger. As Schultz and the Stasi agents entered the courtyard, there was an exchange of gunfire. Egon was hit in the shoulder by a bullet from Zobel’s gun. He fell to the ground, and was attempting to get back up when he was hit again by one of his fellow soldiers, using an AK-47. The escape helpers were able to rescue themselves at the last minute and enter the safety of the West. But there was no way to help Egon, who died on the way to the Krankenhaus der Volkspolizei.
The East German government gave the highest visibility to the funeral with full military honors for Egon in the Friedrich-Engels barracks in East Berlin, and again in his hometown, Rostock. When the coffin was transferred from East Berlin to Rostock, tens of thousands of workers followed government orders to line the streets and pay their last respects to Egon. He was buried in the Neuer Friedhof in Rostock. On the day of his funeral, the school in Rostock where he had been a teacher was given the honorary name “Egon Schlutz Oberschule” (Egon Schultz Secondary School). Eventually, more than a hundred collectives, schools and institutions were named after Egon Schultz.
Investigations were opened in East and West Berlin against the escape helpers. The escape helpers admitted to West Berlin investigators that one of them did fire a gun, but there was no proof that Egon was killed from that particular gunshot. The East German government claimed that Egon was tragically murdered by western agents.The East Berlin prosecutor’s office refused to cooperate with requests from the West Berlin investigation, and instead demanded the extradition of the “murder suspect“. It was known in 1964 that Egon was accidentally shot by his own comrades; the fatal shot came from a Kalishnikov, and not from an escape helper. The findings of this investigation, to include disappearance of the autopsy files from the Charité Hospital, would remain highly classified until October 1990, when the 1964 East Berlin files were given to the German federal judiciary. In November 1965, the West Berlin public prosecutor closed the case against the escape helpers, after charging them only a fine, for illegal possession of a weapon.
A memorial plaque was erected on January 4, 1965, on the house at Strelitzer Strasse 55, commemorating Schultz’s death and denouncing the West Berlin agents involved in the "assassination". The East Berlin part of Strelitzer Strasse (but not the West Berlin part) was renamed Egon-Schultz-Strasse on August 13, 1966. A children's book was written about him; almost every East German citizen knew his name from the school and the media.
The Egon Schultz saga drew great attention not only in East Germany, but also in the Federal Republic of Germany, because the Stern editor in chief Henri Nannen purchased exclusive rights to the tunnel in advance, essentially co-financing the building of Tunnel 57. This was partially responsible for increased tensions between the East and West German governments.
By 1992, prosecutions had begun against former border guards, charging them with murder or manslaughter. A case was opened with regard to Egon for suspicion of negligent homicide, involving investigation of all the people involved in the incident, including the Stasi agents and the border troops. The investigation concluded that Christian Zobel fired the first shot in order to prevent Reinhard Furrer and himself from being arrested. The bullet was lodged in Egon’s lung but did not kill him. The fatal shot came from the Kalashnikov of a border soldier who, on instructions from a Stasi officer, fired shots in the dark courtyard, unintentionally hitting Egon Schultz, who then died from internal bleeding. It was accepted by the court that the border soldier who had fired the deadly shot had acted in self-defense. In response to the investigation against the border guards and Stasi agents, in May 1994, private individuals pressed charges against Reinhard Furrer for supposedly murdering Egon. His mother Frieda, who had supported the accusation, was represented by a renowned West Berlin law firm. Additional charges were also filed with the Berlin public prosecutor’s office. When Reinhard Furrer died in an airplane accident in September 1995 and it became known that Christian Zobel had already passed away, the lawyers representing Egon’s mother filed charges against the other escape helpers as murder accomplices, which were eventually dropped.
In 2004, a memorial plaque was erected, replacing the one previously mounted (and subsequently disappeared after 1989) on the house at Strelitzer Strasse 55. This was done on the initiative of both, former escape helpers and friends of Egon Schultz, on the 40th anniversary of his death. Despite having served as an East German Border Troop who defended the Berlin Wall, and was sworn to prevent escapes under a shoot-to-kill order, Egon is also remembered as one of the at least 140 victims of the Berlin Wall.
Egon was born in Groß Jestin, Kolberg-Körlin county, Pomerania (now Goœcino, Ko³obrzeg County, West Pomeranian Voivodeship, in north-western Poland. He was the younger of two sons of Alfred Schultz, a truck driver, and his wife Frieda, a waitress. He trained as a school teacher in Putbus, and began a teaching career at Rostock-Dierkow in September 1962. His teaching career would be interrupted with his conscription to the National People's Army. His older brother, Armin, was a painter, and at the time of Schultz’s conscription, the family resided at Karl-Marx-Strasse 16 in Rostock. His final visit home, just days prior to his death, was at the same time that his parents were celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary.
On October 4, 1964, Sergeant Schultz was assigned as a reserve to the command post at Arkonaplatz in Berlin-Mitte. Shortly before midnight, a Stasi officer demanded backup support from the border guards; they were to investigate and arrest suspicious individuals at Strelitzer Strasse 55, very close to the border barriers that extended along Bernauer Strasse. But Sergeant Schultz and his fellow border guards were not informed of the real purpose of the operation; the Stasi had learned from informants about an escape operation. While investigating the area near the border, the two Stasi agents met two men who were assisting an escape operation in the foyer of the building at Strelitzer Strasse 55. The escape helpers mistook the Stasi agents for fugitives. Claiming that they had to get a friend who had just been released from custody, the Stasi agents were able to leave the building, leaving the escape helpers to await their return while they organized support from the border guards.
Taking several months to accomplish, a group of West Berlin students dug a 145-meter long tunnel in secrecy, which began at a closed bakery on Bernauer Strasse, and continued eleven meters underground to an outhouse located in the courtyard of the building at Strelitzer Strasse 55. This tunnel later became famous as "Tunnel 57," referring to the number of people who had succeeded in escaping through it the nights of October 3 and October 4, 1964. One of the escape helpers was Reinhard Furrer, the future astronaut. He waited with Christian Zobel and two other escape helpers on the East Berlin side, ready to direct fugitives to the tunnel’s opening. At about half past midnight, the two aforementioned Stasi agents returned with the border soldiers. It was dark, and Reinhard Furrer recognized much too late that a gun was pointed in his direction. Familiar with the surroundings, he quickly receded into the courtyard and before disappearing into the tunnel, warned his friends of the danger. As Schultz and the Stasi agents entered the courtyard, there was an exchange of gunfire. Egon was hit in the shoulder by a bullet from Zobel’s gun. He fell to the ground, and was attempting to get back up when he was hit again by one of his fellow soldiers, using an AK-47. The escape helpers were able to rescue themselves at the last minute and enter the safety of the West. But there was no way to help Egon, who died on the way to the Krankenhaus der Volkspolizei.
The East German government gave the highest visibility to the funeral with full military honors for Egon in the Friedrich-Engels barracks in East Berlin, and again in his hometown, Rostock. When the coffin was transferred from East Berlin to Rostock, tens of thousands of workers followed government orders to line the streets and pay their last respects to Egon. He was buried in the Neuer Friedhof in Rostock. On the day of his funeral, the school in Rostock where he had been a teacher was given the honorary name “Egon Schlutz Oberschule” (Egon Schultz Secondary School). Eventually, more than a hundred collectives, schools and institutions were named after Egon Schultz.
Investigations were opened in East and West Berlin against the escape helpers. The escape helpers admitted to West Berlin investigators that one of them did fire a gun, but there was no proof that Egon was killed from that particular gunshot. The East German government claimed that Egon was tragically murdered by western agents.The East Berlin prosecutor’s office refused to cooperate with requests from the West Berlin investigation, and instead demanded the extradition of the “murder suspect“. It was known in 1964 that Egon was accidentally shot by his own comrades; the fatal shot came from a Kalishnikov, and not from an escape helper. The findings of this investigation, to include disappearance of the autopsy files from the Charité Hospital, would remain highly classified until October 1990, when the 1964 East Berlin files were given to the German federal judiciary. In November 1965, the West Berlin public prosecutor closed the case against the escape helpers, after charging them only a fine, for illegal possession of a weapon.
A memorial plaque was erected on January 4, 1965, on the house at Strelitzer Strasse 55, commemorating Schultz’s death and denouncing the West Berlin agents involved in the "assassination". The East Berlin part of Strelitzer Strasse (but not the West Berlin part) was renamed Egon-Schultz-Strasse on August 13, 1966. A children's book was written about him; almost every East German citizen knew his name from the school and the media.
The Egon Schultz saga drew great attention not only in East Germany, but also in the Federal Republic of Germany, because the Stern editor in chief Henri Nannen purchased exclusive rights to the tunnel in advance, essentially co-financing the building of Tunnel 57. This was partially responsible for increased tensions between the East and West German governments.
By 1992, prosecutions had begun against former border guards, charging them with murder or manslaughter. A case was opened with regard to Egon for suspicion of negligent homicide, involving investigation of all the people involved in the incident, including the Stasi agents and the border troops. The investigation concluded that Christian Zobel fired the first shot in order to prevent Reinhard Furrer and himself from being arrested. The bullet was lodged in Egon’s lung but did not kill him. The fatal shot came from the Kalashnikov of a border soldier who, on instructions from a Stasi officer, fired shots in the dark courtyard, unintentionally hitting Egon Schultz, who then died from internal bleeding. It was accepted by the court that the border soldier who had fired the deadly shot had acted in self-defense. In response to the investigation against the border guards and Stasi agents, in May 1994, private individuals pressed charges against Reinhard Furrer for supposedly murdering Egon. His mother Frieda, who had supported the accusation, was represented by a renowned West Berlin law firm. Additional charges were also filed with the Berlin public prosecutor’s office. When Reinhard Furrer died in an airplane accident in September 1995 and it became known that Christian Zobel had already passed away, the lawyers representing Egon’s mother filed charges against the other escape helpers as murder accomplices, which were eventually dropped.
In 2004, a memorial plaque was erected, replacing the one previously mounted (and subsequently disappeared after 1989) on the house at Strelitzer Strasse 55. This was done on the initiative of both, former escape helpers and friends of Egon Schultz, on the 40th anniversary of his death. Despite having served as an East German Border Troop who defended the Berlin Wall, and was sworn to prevent escapes under a shoot-to-kill order, Egon is also remembered as one of the at least 140 victims of the Berlin Wall.
