One of the youngest Deaths at the Berlin Wall.
Giuseppe Savoca, born on April 22, 1968 in West Berlin, lived with his parents, Italian immigrants, and two younger sisters in the Kreuzberg district.
On June 15, 1974, a Saturday, the six-year-old boy was playing with a friend on the Gröbenufer riverbank in Berlin-Kreuzberg. His Turkish friend later explained: “We just wanted to look at the fish.” Giuseppe Savoca climbed under the embankment railing just past 10 a.m. and began fishing with a stick in the water a half meter under the quay wall. He may have been trying to fish a toy out of the Spree River. With his arms outstretched, he leaned farther and farther forward until he lost his balance and fell into the water. He frantically paddled in the water with his arms while his playmate ran away to get help.
On the Oberbaum Bridge, 60 meters away, an East German border guard watched the events through his binoculars. He saw the child fall into the water, which belonged entirely to East Berlin in that area, and he informed the command post of the boat company of the NVA border regiment. A bit later, independently of this report, a patrol boat of the East German border troops passed right by the site of the accident. An adult who had been fetched by Giuseppe Savoca’s playmate called out to the boat crew that a child had fallen into the water. The coxswain stopped for a moment and then continued to pass by with his boat. Later he justified his failure to help the child with the explanation that he did not see any air bubbles on the surface of the water and consequently surmised that the call from the West Berlin bank was merely a provocation; in any case it was illegal for anyone to cross the red-white barrier line of the Spree without receiving an explicit order from the commander of the East German border regiment and without informing the border guards on the Oberbaum Bridge border crossing in advance.
After he received the explicit order, the coxswain returned with his boat to the site of the accident. At about 10:25 a.m. he began searching for the drowned boy together with another East German border troop boat. Meanwhile a large crowd of West Berliners had gathered on the bank of the river, but they remained cautious and did not try to rescue the child. Ten minutes later the West Berlin police and firemen arrived. As had been the case with previous incidents of children falling into the water at Gröbenufer, the East German border guards did not allow the West Berlin rescue teams to get involved or assist in the rescue. The boy’s mother later reported to the West Berlin police that a woman had told her that a man who had wanted to rescue her son had been threatened by East German border guards with their guns. The search for the child did not begin until 10:45 a.m., when a diving troop of the East German border regime arrived at the site of the accident. The six-year-old was pulled out of the water almost an hour after the accident had occurred and taken to East Berlin.
(www.berliner-mauer-gedenkstaette.de/en/1974-322,434,2.html&h=140&w=120&tbnid=M6YemyKVyMrGYM:&zoom=1&tbnh=140&tbnw=120&usg=__SnD3bQDB8-rfSymnWl4PG69zCac=&docid=CYnvYs2XalZAKM&itg=1&sa=X&ei=I2i6VOy-DIbvOc2bgPAL&ved=0CHwQ_B0wCg)
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This memorial page was sponsored by:
Rhonda C./Friends: for this our special thanks~❤~
If time permits please visit his loved ones.
════════════ ೋღ☃ღೋ ═══════════
Giuseppe Savoca, born on April 22, 1968 in West Berlin, lived with his parents, Italian immigrants, and two younger sisters in the Kreuzberg district.
On June 15, 1974, a Saturday, the six-year-old boy was playing with a friend on the Gröbenufer riverbank in Berlin-Kreuzberg. His Turkish friend later explained: “We just wanted to look at the fish.” Giuseppe Savoca climbed under the embankment railing just past 10 a.m. and began fishing with a stick in the water a half meter under the quay wall. He may have been trying to fish a toy out of the Spree River. With his arms outstretched, he leaned farther and farther forward until he lost his balance and fell into the water. He frantically paddled in the water with his arms while his playmate ran away to get help.
On the Oberbaum Bridge, 60 meters away, an East German border guard watched the events through his binoculars. He saw the child fall into the water, which belonged entirely to East Berlin in that area, and he informed the command post of the boat company of the NVA border regiment. A bit later, independently of this report, a patrol boat of the East German border troops passed right by the site of the accident. An adult who had been fetched by Giuseppe Savoca’s playmate called out to the boat crew that a child had fallen into the water. The coxswain stopped for a moment and then continued to pass by with his boat. Later he justified his failure to help the child with the explanation that he did not see any air bubbles on the surface of the water and consequently surmised that the call from the West Berlin bank was merely a provocation; in any case it was illegal for anyone to cross the red-white barrier line of the Spree without receiving an explicit order from the commander of the East German border regiment and without informing the border guards on the Oberbaum Bridge border crossing in advance.
After he received the explicit order, the coxswain returned with his boat to the site of the accident. At about 10:25 a.m. he began searching for the drowned boy together with another East German border troop boat. Meanwhile a large crowd of West Berliners had gathered on the bank of the river, but they remained cautious and did not try to rescue the child. Ten minutes later the West Berlin police and firemen arrived. As had been the case with previous incidents of children falling into the water at Gröbenufer, the East German border guards did not allow the West Berlin rescue teams to get involved or assist in the rescue. The boy’s mother later reported to the West Berlin police that a woman had told her that a man who had wanted to rescue her son had been threatened by East German border guards with their guns. The search for the child did not begin until 10:45 a.m., when a diving troop of the East German border regime arrived at the site of the accident. The six-year-old was pulled out of the water almost an hour after the accident had occurred and taken to East Berlin.
(www.berliner-mauer-gedenkstaette.de/en/1974-322,434,2.html&h=140&w=120&tbnid=M6YemyKVyMrGYM:&zoom=1&tbnh=140&tbnw=120&usg=__SnD3bQDB8-rfSymnWl4PG69zCac=&docid=CYnvYs2XalZAKM&itg=1&sa=X&ei=I2i6VOy-DIbvOc2bgPAL&ved=0CHwQ_B0wCg)
════════════ ೋღ☃ღೋ ═══════════
This memorial page was sponsored by:
Rhonda C./Friends: for this our special thanks~❤~
If time permits please visit his loved ones.
════════════ ೋღ☃ღೋ ═══════════
One of the youngest Deaths at the Berlin Wall.
Giuseppe Savoca, born on April 22, 1968 in West Berlin, lived with his parents, Italian immigrants, and two younger sisters in the Kreuzberg district.
On June 15, 1974, a Saturday, the six-year-old boy was playing with a friend on the Gröbenufer riverbank in Berlin-Kreuzberg. His Turkish friend later explained: “We just wanted to look at the fish.” Giuseppe Savoca climbed under the embankment railing just past 10 a.m. and began fishing with a stick in the water a half meter under the quay wall. He may have been trying to fish a toy out of the Spree River. With his arms outstretched, he leaned farther and farther forward until he lost his balance and fell into the water. He frantically paddled in the water with his arms while his playmate ran away to get help.
On the Oberbaum Bridge, 60 meters away, an East German border guard watched the events through his binoculars. He saw the child fall into the water, which belonged entirely to East Berlin in that area, and he informed the command post of the boat company of the NVA border regiment. A bit later, independently of this report, a patrol boat of the East German border troops passed right by the site of the accident. An adult who had been fetched by Giuseppe Savoca’s playmate called out to the boat crew that a child had fallen into the water. The coxswain stopped for a moment and then continued to pass by with his boat. Later he justified his failure to help the child with the explanation that he did not see any air bubbles on the surface of the water and consequently surmised that the call from the West Berlin bank was merely a provocation; in any case it was illegal for anyone to cross the red-white barrier line of the Spree without receiving an explicit order from the commander of the East German border regiment and without informing the border guards on the Oberbaum Bridge border crossing in advance.
After he received the explicit order, the coxswain returned with his boat to the site of the accident. At about 10:25 a.m. he began searching for the drowned boy together with another East German border troop boat. Meanwhile a large crowd of West Berliners had gathered on the bank of the river, but they remained cautious and did not try to rescue the child. Ten minutes later the West Berlin police and firemen arrived. As had been the case with previous incidents of children falling into the water at Gröbenufer, the East German border guards did not allow the West Berlin rescue teams to get involved or assist in the rescue. The boy’s mother later reported to the West Berlin police that a woman had told her that a man who had wanted to rescue her son had been threatened by East German border guards with their guns. The search for the child did not begin until 10:45 a.m., when a diving troop of the East German border regime arrived at the site of the accident. The six-year-old was pulled out of the water almost an hour after the accident had occurred and taken to East Berlin.
(www.berliner-mauer-gedenkstaette.de/en/1974-322,434,2.html&h=140&w=120&tbnid=M6YemyKVyMrGYM:&zoom=1&tbnh=140&tbnw=120&usg=__SnD3bQDB8-rfSymnWl4PG69zCac=&docid=CYnvYs2XalZAKM&itg=1&sa=X&ei=I2i6VOy-DIbvOc2bgPAL&ved=0CHwQ_B0wCg)
════════════ ೋღ☃ღೋ ═══════════
This memorial page was sponsored by:
Rhonda C./Friends: for this our special thanks~❤~
If time permits please visit his loved ones.
════════════ ೋღ☃ღೋ ═══════════
Giuseppe Savoca, born on April 22, 1968 in West Berlin, lived with his parents, Italian immigrants, and two younger sisters in the Kreuzberg district.
On June 15, 1974, a Saturday, the six-year-old boy was playing with a friend on the Gröbenufer riverbank in Berlin-Kreuzberg. His Turkish friend later explained: “We just wanted to look at the fish.” Giuseppe Savoca climbed under the embankment railing just past 10 a.m. and began fishing with a stick in the water a half meter under the quay wall. He may have been trying to fish a toy out of the Spree River. With his arms outstretched, he leaned farther and farther forward until he lost his balance and fell into the water. He frantically paddled in the water with his arms while his playmate ran away to get help.
On the Oberbaum Bridge, 60 meters away, an East German border guard watched the events through his binoculars. He saw the child fall into the water, which belonged entirely to East Berlin in that area, and he informed the command post of the boat company of the NVA border regiment. A bit later, independently of this report, a patrol boat of the East German border troops passed right by the site of the accident. An adult who had been fetched by Giuseppe Savoca’s playmate called out to the boat crew that a child had fallen into the water. The coxswain stopped for a moment and then continued to pass by with his boat. Later he justified his failure to help the child with the explanation that he did not see any air bubbles on the surface of the water and consequently surmised that the call from the West Berlin bank was merely a provocation; in any case it was illegal for anyone to cross the red-white barrier line of the Spree without receiving an explicit order from the commander of the East German border regiment and without informing the border guards on the Oberbaum Bridge border crossing in advance.
After he received the explicit order, the coxswain returned with his boat to the site of the accident. At about 10:25 a.m. he began searching for the drowned boy together with another East German border troop boat. Meanwhile a large crowd of West Berliners had gathered on the bank of the river, but they remained cautious and did not try to rescue the child. Ten minutes later the West Berlin police and firemen arrived. As had been the case with previous incidents of children falling into the water at Gröbenufer, the East German border guards did not allow the West Berlin rescue teams to get involved or assist in the rescue. The boy’s mother later reported to the West Berlin police that a woman had told her that a man who had wanted to rescue her son had been threatened by East German border guards with their guns. The search for the child did not begin until 10:45 a.m., when a diving troop of the East German border regime arrived at the site of the accident. The six-year-old was pulled out of the water almost an hour after the accident had occurred and taken to East Berlin.
(www.berliner-mauer-gedenkstaette.de/en/1974-322,434,2.html&h=140&w=120&tbnid=M6YemyKVyMrGYM:&zoom=1&tbnh=140&tbnw=120&usg=__SnD3bQDB8-rfSymnWl4PG69zCac=&docid=CYnvYs2XalZAKM&itg=1&sa=X&ei=I2i6VOy-DIbvOc2bgPAL&ved=0CHwQ_B0wCg)
════════════ ೋღ☃ღೋ ═══════════
This memorial page was sponsored by:
Rhonda C./Friends: for this our special thanks~❤~
If time permits please visit his loved ones.
════════════ ೋღ☃ღೋ ═══════════
