# Norbert Wolscht (1943–1964)

> Norbert Wolscht, a 20-year-old lathe operator from Freiberg in Saxony, drowned in the Havel near Potsdam on 28 July 1964 when his home-made diving equipment apparently failed during an underwater escape attempt with his friend Rainer Gneiser.

- Born: 27 October 1943
- Died: 28 July 1964
- Age at death: 20
- Cause of death: Drowned
- Circumstances: Died trying to escape
- Place and circumstances as recorded: In the Havel River; On the outer ring between Potsdam-Babelsberg and Berlin-Zehlendorf
- Map position (area): 52.4099, 13.08774
- Area: outer ring between West Berlin and the GDR
- Web page: https://victimsofthewall.com/victims/wolscht-norbert/

## Story

Norbert Wolscht was born on 27 October 1943 in Greiffenberg in Silesia, the second child of Benno and Charlotte Wolscht; his sister Barbara was a year older. In 1947, with his father still a prisoner of war, his mother, grandmother and the children had to leave Greiffenberg, which had become part of Poland. His sister later said the war and the expulsion had marked their childhood. His mother hoped to join her brothers in Düsseldorf, but the refugee camp near Görlitz was so overcrowded that she arranged to move to relatives in Freiberg, and the family settled in Saxony.

After leaving school with a secondary certificate he trained as a lathe operator in a precision engineering firm. His sister felt he found it hard to submit to the ideological demands of the state. According to his sister, he had always meant to emigrate to South Africa one day, like a friend with whom he corresponded for many years; on that friend's advice he first wanted to finish his apprenticeship and learn English. He was not yet 18 when the Wall was built, but he probably never completely gave up his dream. In the summer of 1963 he is said to have teamed up with Rainer Gneiser, a friend since their school days in Freiberg who had already failed once to escape. They trained in long-distance swimming and learned how diving equipment was built. Norbert was athletic and a strong swimmer.

On 25 July 1964, telling family and friends they were going camping, the two set off from Freiberg by motorcycle, probably heading straight for Potsdam. On 27 July Norbert sent his camping gear home to his parents from Potsdam; it was the last sign of life he left. Their plan was to get across the Havel to West Berlin during the night leading into 28 July, using diving suits, flippers and oxygen tanks. Exactly when and where they entered the water is not known; they probably set out from the Tiefen See and meant to swim underwater north through the Babelsberger Enge towards the West Berlin bank.

Both young men drowned in unexplained circumstances. Border soldiers pulled Norbert's body from the river the next morning; Rainer Gneiser's body was found on the Babelsberg bank a week later. The autopsy placed Norbert's death at around 2 a.m. on 28 July and attributed it to failure of the breathing apparatus; a doctor told his father there were no external injuries and that death was presumably caused by carbon dioxide poisoning, because the soda lime in the home-made equipment had apparently not absorbed the gas properly. The West knew nothing of their fate at the time.

His parents were informed the same evening and were allowed to see their son. Norbert Wolscht was buried in the Donatsfriedhof in Freiberg on 1 August 1964. In the death notice his parents wrote of an accident, but they did not hide from relatives and friends that he had died trying to escape. After the collapse of East Germany, friends and relatives drew attention to the case, and investigations confirmed that the two had died in an accident during their escape attempt.

## Sources

1. Christine Brecht, “Norbert Wolscht”, 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/180521/wolscht-norbert
2. German version of the same biography. Accessed 23 September 2026. https://www.chronik-der-mauer.de/todesopfer/171404/wolscht-norbert
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: “Norbert Wolscht”, Victims of the Berlin Wall, Berlin Experiences. https://victimsofthewall.com/victims/wolscht-norbert/