Winfried Freudenberg

From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Winfried Freudenberg
Born(1956-08-29)29 August 1956
Died8 March 1989(1989-03-08) (aged 32)
Cause of deathHome-made gas balloon crash whilst attempting to leave East Berlin
52°25′47″N 13°13′26″E / 52.4297°N 13.2239°E / 52.4297; 13.2239 (Empty balloon found in branches of a tree)
Body discoveredBackyard of a garden villa in Zehlendorf
52°26′22″N 13°13′54″E / 52.4394°N 13.2318°E / 52.4394; 13.2318 (Vicinity of Winfried Freudenberg crash site)
OccupationElectrical Engineer
Known forLast fatality in an attempt to defect from East Germany across the Berlin Wall

Winfried Freudenberg (29 August 1956 – 8 March 1989) was the last person to die in an attempt to escape from East Germany to West Berlin across the Berlin Wall as he fell from an improvised gas balloon at high altitude over West Berlin.[1][2][3][4]

References[change | change source]

  1. Martin Ahrends; Udo Baron & Hans-Hermann Hertle. "Chronicle of the Berlin Wall" (in German). Deutschlandradio. Archived from the original on 2009-10-13. Retrieved 2020-02-20.
  2. "Balloon Tragedy". Weekly World News. 1989-05-02. Archived from the original on 2017-02-14. Retrieved 2020-02-20.
  3. "Berlin Pays Tribute to Last Person Shot Crossing Wall". Spiegel Online International. 2009-02-06. Archived from the original on 2012-03-01. Retrieved 2009-05-23.
  4. "Sachbuch zum Fall Freudenberg "Ich hatte gehofft..."" (in German). Penguin Verlag. 2019-05-17. Archived from the original on 2019-11-08. Retrieved 2019-05-17.