Victims of the Wall

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Günter Wiedenhöft

1942–1962

Günter Wiedenhöft, a 20-year-old electrician from Berlin-Treptow, drowned in Griebnitz Lake on the night of 5 to 6 December 1962 while trying to escape across the ice to West Berlin.

Dark panel with a large black-and-white photograph of a smiling young man, above a German and English text headed 'Günter Wiedenhöft'
Memorial panel for Günter Wiedenhöft on Lankestraße 2 in Klein Glienicke, with his photograph, photographed in 2023 Photo: OTFW, Berlin, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Günter Wiedenhöft was born in Berlin on 14 February 1942. He spent his earliest years in a children's home; when he was six, his mother fetched him and he joined her and his younger sister in their home in Berlin-Treptow. Following eight years of schooling he trained as an electrician and was taken on by the firm that had trained him. Before the Wall was built, he spent much of his free time in West Berlin, where he had friends, and afterwards he kept in touch with them by letter.

On 11 October 1962 he was arrested in Treptow while exploring the border installations facing Kreuzberg. Under interrogation he admitted wanting to leave, citing constant arguments with his mother and his impending call-up to the army, and insisted that he had not told his mother or sister of his plans or mentioned them in his letters. It is more than doubtful that he spoke openly about his motives under interrogation; people under arrest had good reason to protect others and seek a lighter sentence. At his trial before the Treptow district court on 27 November he showed remorse, but he was sentenced to eight months in prison. The authorities apparently saw no reason to think he would try again, for he was not taken into custody at once and had to report to begin his sentence only a few weeks later. He used that time to make a second attempt.

On 5 December 1962 he travelled from Berlin to Potsdam and after dark approached Griebnitz Lake, half of which belonged to Potsdam and half to the West Berlin district of Zehlendorf. In that cold winter the lake was already frozen near the banks, but border troops kept a channel open to prevent escapes. Why he chose this route is not known. The triple barbed-wire fence blocking access to the bank was later found cut in several places, and around midnight he must have set off across the ice. Two guards heard a cough and then the sound of ice breaking. Unable to see anyone, they called out, fired a warning shot and, with reinforcements, fired along the bank. They found only his pincers, coat and scarf on the shore; West Berlin police, who had also heard the shots, found no one either.

Günter Wiedenhöft must have fallen through the ice and drowned without being hit by any bullet. On 25 March 1963 border soldiers found his body in the Havel at the "Babelsberger Enge"; it showed no gunshot wound, and papers he carried identified him at once. His mother recognised the coat and scarf as his. The exact time of his death is uncertain, but the evidence suggests it was early on 6 December 1962: according to one border troop report, the wristwatch found with his body had stopped at fourteen minutes past midnight. A commemorative column for him was set up at the foot of the Teltow Canal bridge towards Klein Glienicke, on Lankestrasse.

Row of five grey posts with portrait photographs and text panels beside a tall orange column, along a cobbled path in front of trees and an iron fence
Memorial for five victims of the Berlin Wall, including Günter Wiedenhöft, on Lankestraße 2 in Klein Glienicke, photographed in 2023 Photo: OTFW, Berlin, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Information panel with an aerial photograph of a lake shore with marked points labelled with names, above text
Panel with a 1989 aerial photograph marking where the bodies of Günter Wiedenhöft and others were found, Lankestraße, Klein Glienicke Photo: OTFW, Berlin, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Read more

Also died on the outer ring between Berlin-Zehlendorf and Potsdam-Babelsberg

Sources

This profile is a summary written for this site. Every fact in it is taken from source 1, which also gives the full account with archival references.

  1. Christine Brecht, “Günter Wiedenhöft”, biography in Chronik der Mauer, Federal Agency for Civic Education, Centre for Contemporary History Potsdam and Deutschlandradio. Accessed 23 September 2026. Read online. Basis for every fact in this profile, including the dates and place of death.
  2. German version of the same biography. Accessed 23 September 2026. Read online.
  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. The printed handbook from which the online biography is taken.
  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. PDF. Used to cross-check names and dates.
  5. Hans-Hermann Hertle and Maria Nooke, “The Victims at the Berlin Wall, 1961–1989: Findings of a Research Project”, August 2017. PDF. Source of the classification into escapees, people with no intent to escape, and border soldiers.

Further reading

Image credits

  • Memorial panel for Günter Wiedenhöft on Lankestraße 2 in Klein Glienicke, with his photograph, photographed in 2023. OTFW, Berlin, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons.
  • Memorial for five victims of the Berlin Wall, including Günter Wiedenhöft, on Lankestraße 2 in Klein Glienicke, photographed in 2023. OTFW, Berlin, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons.
  • Panel with a 1989 aerial photograph marking where the bodies of Günter Wiedenhöft and others were found, Lankestraße, Klein Glienicke. OTFW, Berlin, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons.

Cite this page

“Günter Wiedenhöft”, Victims of the Berlin Wall, Berlin Experiences. https://victimsofthewall.com/victims/wiedenhoeft-guenter/

Map

The pin position is based on the place of death described in source 1. Base map © OpenStreetMap contributors; course of the Wall in 1989 from Geoportal Berlin (dl-de/zero-2.0). Accessed 23 September 2026.