# Holger H. (1971–1973)

> Holger H., a 15-month-old boy, suffocated on 22 January 1973 while hidden with his mother in a crate on a truck passing through the Drewitz border crossing, as his parents fled East Germany.

- Born: 1971
- Died: 22 January 1973
- Cause of death: Fatal fall or accident
- Circumstances: Died trying to escape
- Place and circumstances as recorded: At the Drewitz border crossing/ Dreilinden command post ("Checkpoint Bravo"); On the outer ring between Potsdam-Babelsberg and Berlin-Zehlendorf
- Map position (approximate): 52.40736, 13.19193
- Area: outer ring between West Berlin and the GDR
- Web page: https://victimsofthewall.com/victims/h-holger/

## Story

Holger H. was born in 1971. His parents, Ingrid and Klaus H., had met in Moscow on a youth travel programme. Little is known of why they wanted to leave East Germany, but after their son was born they were sure they did not want to spend their lives there. His father, who had tried to escape across the Baltic Sea at 17, had been branded a "republic fugitive" and had few career prospects. His mother, a young teacher, probably suffered under the political paternalism of the time. They wanted to leave for their own sake and for Holger's: they did not want him to grow up with the constraints they had known.

One night in January 1973 a truck belonging to a West Berlin acquaintance stopped at a car park on the transit motorway. The 23-year-old father climbed into one large empty crate on the back; the 20-year-old mother and 15-month-old Holger hid in another. At the Drewitz border crossing, the driver later told the West Berlin police, the inspection took longer than usual.

Holger was unwell, with a middle-ear infection and bronchitis, and his nose was probably blocked. When he began to cry, his frightened mother tried in vain to quieten him and, panicking, held his mouth shut, not realising that he could not breathe through his nose. The truck passed through undetected. About 300 metres further on the crates were opened, and his mother at once held her son out to the helpers at the western checkpoint. Holger was no longer breathing, and every attempt to revive him failed.

His burial was planned for a cemetery in Berlin-Marienfelde. A commemorative column to him was put up near the Drewitz-Dreilinden Border Crossing memorial at Stahnsdorfer Damm/Europapark.

## Sources

1. Martin Ahrends/Udo Baron, “Holger H.”, 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/180576/h-holger
2. German version of the same biography. Accessed 23 September 2026. https://www.chronik-der-mauer.de/todesopfer/171343/h-holger
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: “Holger H.”, Victims of the Berlin Wall, Berlin Experiences. https://victimsofthewall.com/victims/h-holger/