# Willi Born (1950–1970)

> Willi Born, a 19-year-old tractor driver doing his military service, left his unit and entered the border area near Bergfelde on 7 July 1970. Cornered by border soldiers in a patch of woods, he took his own life.

- Born: 19 or 29 July 1950
- Died: 7 July 1970
- Age at death: 19
- Cause of death: Suicide after a failed escape attempt
- Circumstances: Died trying to escape
- Place and circumstances as recorded: On the outer ring between Bergfelde (Oranienburg district) and Berlin-Reinickendorf
- Map position (area): 52.65968, 13.30708
- Area: outer ring between West Berlin and the GDR
- Web page: https://victimsofthewall.com/victims/born-willi/

> Note on the sources: The sources disagree on his date of birth. The official 2017 list of the 140 victims and the header of the English biography give 19 July 1950; the header of the German biography gives 29 July 1950. Both biographies say he died on 7 July 1970, three weeks before his 20th birthday, which fits 29 July.

## Story

Willi Born was born in July 1950. He had six younger siblings and spent his early childhood in Klein-Marzehns in the Belzig district. His mother died while he was still young, and at the age of 13 he spent a period in a children's home in the Königswusterhausen district before going back to his father, who had remarried. By then the large family had made a new home in Lindow in the Mark Brandenburg.

He trained as an agricultural technician and then worked as a tractor driver at the agricultural cooperative in Lindow, where his father also worked. In 1969 he married, and the young couple soon moved to Velten, just north of Berlin. The couple had little time to build a life together, because at 19 he had to do his military service with the motorised rifle regiment in Oranienburg.

In the early hours of 7 July 1970, three weeks before his 20th birthday, he left his unit, at first unnoticed. As he made his way into the border area near Bergfelde, north of Berlin, in broad daylight, his absence had already been noticed at the barracks; a search was ordered and all border posts were told to keep a closer watch. At around 10:30 a.m. a guard saw him and fired a warning burst. Pursued by a number of border soldiers, he took cover in a strip of woodland. There he was cornered, and before a guard could arrest him, he shot himself. He died instantly.

His family buried him in the cemetery in Lindow. His parents suspected that private problems had led to his flight and his death. A greetings card for his 20th birthday was returned to his parents, and his stepmother kept it in his memory.

## Sources

1. Udo Baron/Maria Nooke, “Willi Born”, biography in Chronik der Mauer, Federal Agency for Civic Education, Centre for Contemporary History Potsdam and Deutschlandradio. Accessed 23 September 2026. https://www.chronik-der-mauer.de/en/victims/180563/born-willi
2. German version of the same biography. Accessed 23 September 2026. https://www.chronik-der-mauer.de/todesopfer/171359/born-willi
3. Hans-Hermann Hertle and Maria Nooke (eds.), The Victims at the Berlin Wall, 1961–1989: A Biographical Handbook. Centre for Contemporary History Potsdam and Berlin Wall Foundation, Berlin 2011.
4. Hans-Hermann Hertle and Maria Nooke, “140 Victims at the Berlin Wall, 1961–1989” (list), Centre for Contemporary History Potsdam and Berlin Wall Foundation, August 2017. https://www.chronik-der-mauer.de/system/files/dokument_pdf/2017_08_08_140%20Victims_at_the_Wall_List_Internet_engl_FINAL.pdf
5. Hans-Hermann Hertle and Maria Nooke, “The Victims at the Berlin Wall, 1961–1989: Findings of a Research Project”, August 2017. https://www.chronik-der-mauer.de/system/files/dokument_pdf/2017_08_08_Hertle_Nooke_140_Victims_Berlin_Wall_FINAL_0.pdf

This profile is a summary written for this site; every fact in it is taken from source 1.

Cite as: “Willi Born”, Victims of the Berlin Wall, Berlin Experiences. https://victimsofthewall.com/victims/born-willi/