Rudi Arnstadt
Encyclopedia
Rudi Arnstadt was an East German border guard who was shot and killed while serving as a captain of the border troops of the former East Germany. He was shot by Hans Plüschke, a 23-year-old West German
border guard. According to West German officials, Plüschke was returning fire after his patrol was shot at. The incident took place at Wiesenfeld on the East-West border in the East German province of Thuringia
.
His death occurred along with the deaths of another four East German border troops in quite a short time. Such incidents led to a very strained relationship between the two opposing sets of German border troops. This has been proposed as a contributory factor for the failure of East Berlin
border guards to assist the mortally wounded Peter Fechter
. Fechter was shot while attempting to defect to West Berlin
on August 17, 1962 and died after lying in no-man's land for an hour, in full view of both sides.
In 1998, Plüschke was fatally shot in his right eye, the same fatal wound Arnstadt had suffered. His body was found by a motorist on the Bundesstraße
B 84, 70 meters from his vehicle.
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
border guard. According to West German officials, Plüschke was returning fire after his patrol was shot at. The incident took place at Wiesenfeld on the East-West border in the East German province of Thuringia
Thuringia
The Free State of Thuringia is a state of Germany, located in the central part of the country.It has an area of and 2.29 million inhabitants, making it the sixth smallest by area and the fifth smallest by population of Germany's sixteen states....
.
His death occurred along with the deaths of another four East German border troops in quite a short time. Such incidents led to a very strained relationship between the two opposing sets of German border troops. This has been proposed as a contributory factor for the failure of East Berlin
East Berlin
East Berlin was the name given to the eastern part of Berlin between 1949 and 1990. It consisted of the Soviet sector of Berlin that was established in 1945. The American, British and French sectors became West Berlin, a part strongly associated with West Germany but a free city...
border guards to assist the mortally wounded Peter Fechter
Peter Fechter
Peter Fechter was a German bricklayer from Berlin in what became East Germany in 1945. He was aged just 18, one of the first victims of the Berlin Wall's border guards while trying to cross over to what was then West Berlin.-Background:After World War II, Germany was governed jointly by an Allied...
. Fechter was shot while attempting to defect to West Berlin
West Berlin
West Berlin was a political exclave that existed between 1949 and 1990. It comprised the western regions of Berlin, which were bordered by East Berlin and parts of East Germany. West Berlin consisted of the American, British, and French occupation sectors, which had been established in 1945...
on August 17, 1962 and died after lying in no-man's land for an hour, in full view of both sides.
In 1998, Plüschke was fatally shot in his right eye, the same fatal wound Arnstadt had suffered. His body was found by a motorist on the Bundesstraße
Bundesstraße
Bundesstraße , abbreviated B, is the denotation for German and Austrian national highways.-Germany:...
B 84, 70 meters from his vehicle.