Winfried Freudenberg
Encyclopedia
Winfried Freudenberg was the last person to die in an attempt to escape from East Germany to West Berlin
across the Berlin Wall
.
Freudenberg was born in Osterwieck
, and grew up in the Saxony-Anhalt
town of Lüttgenrode
, near what was then the border between his native East Germany, which was then a part of the communist
Eastern Bloc
, as a satellite state
of the Soviet Union
, and West Germany
. After working as an apprentice electrician, he trained as an electrical engineer in a Volkshochschule (trade school). In the Autumn of1988 he married Sabine, a student he had met in school. Unable to find work, the couple had become increasingly disappointed about being unable to cross the border, several hundred meters away. Two weeks before the wedding, Freudenberg had decided to escape to the west with his wife, and immediately after the wedding the two began planning a trip by homemade balloon
filled with natural gas
(because its main component, methane
, is lighter than air
, natural gas can serve as a lifting gas
).
As part of their plan Freudenberg took a job in a local gas refinery, and the two took an apartment in the East Berlin
neighborhood of Prenzlauer Berg
. In January and February, 1989, they began assembling a 13 meter tall by 11 meter diameter balloon out of polythene tents, which they cut into strips and taped together. On the evening of March 7 they decided that the wind conditions were favorable for their escape, and at midnight went to the station where Freudenberg worked and began to fill their balloon with gas. A young unemployed student noticed them, and called the local police at 1:30. They panicked when they saw a patrol car approach. Because the balloon was not yet full enough to lift both of them they decided for Freudenberg to escape alone, and cut the tether
cables with him inside. However, without Sabine there was not enough ballast
and the balloon rose too fast. It severed a power line shortly after launching. Although East German security had often shot and killed citizens attempting to escape, they decided against shooting Freudenberg because of the possibility that bullets could trigger an explosion of the natural gas inside the balloon.
Freudenberg spent several hours aloft. He passed over the Berlin Tegel Airport in West Berlin
, where he apparently had intended to land, at an altitude of 2,000 meters. At 7:30 the next morning he fell into the garden of a villa in the suburb of Zehlendorf
. The direct cause of the crash is unknown. The remains of the balloon came down on the median strip of a thoroughfare, whereas Freudenberg's body was discovered hours later and several blocks away in a back yard. Freudenberg evidently died instantly from injuries from his crash. Nearly every bone in his body had been broken and virtually every internal organ had been damaged.
After the incident, East German police investigated the friends, family, acquaintances, and colleagues of Freudenberg and his wife, to determine whether any had participated in the escape attempt. Because of international attention and pressure over the recent shooting over Chris Gueffroy
, the last refugee to be shot by East German border guards, Sabine was given the relatively lenient sentence of three years of probation, and then granted amnesty
in October, 1989. The next month East Germany began allowing its citizens to travel to the west, and several months later the Berlin Wall
was dismantled and the two countries reunified
.
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...
across the Berlin Wall
Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall was a barrier constructed by the German Democratic Republic starting on 13 August 1961, that completely cut off West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and from East Berlin...
.
Freudenberg was born in Osterwieck
Osterwieck
Osterwieck is a historic town in the Harz district, in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. It is situated on the river Ilse, north of Wernigerode and the Harz mountain range. On 1 January 2010 the municipalities of the former Verwaltungsgemeinschaft Osterwieck-Fallstein merged in Osterwieck.The...
, and grew up in the Saxony-Anhalt
Saxony-Anhalt
Saxony-Anhalt is a landlocked state of Germany. Its capital is Magdeburg and it is surrounded by the German states of Lower Saxony, Brandenburg, Saxony, and Thuringia.Saxony-Anhalt covers an area of...
town of Lüttgenrode
Lüttgenrode
Lüttgenrode is a village and a former municipality in the district of Harz, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 January 2010, it is part of the town Osterwieck....
, near what was then the border between his native East Germany, which was then a part of the communist
Communist state
A communist state is a state with a form of government characterized by single-party rule or dominant-party rule of a communist party and a professed allegiance to a Leninist or Marxist-Leninist communist ideology as the guiding principle of the state...
Eastern Bloc
Eastern bloc
The term Eastern Bloc or Communist Bloc refers to the former communist states of Eastern and Central Europe, generally the Soviet Union and the countries of the Warsaw Pact...
, as a satellite state
Satellite state
A satellite state is a political term that refers to a country that is formally independent, but under heavy political and economic influence or control by another country...
of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, and West Germany
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....
. After working as an apprentice electrician, he trained as an electrical engineer in a Volkshochschule (trade school). In the Autumn of1988 he married Sabine, a student he had met in school. Unable to find work, the couple had become increasingly disappointed about being unable to cross the border, several hundred meters away. Two weeks before the wedding, Freudenberg had decided to escape to the west with his wife, and immediately after the wedding the two began planning a trip by homemade balloon
Aerostat
An aerostat is a craft that remains aloft primarily through the use of buoyant lighter than air gases, which impart lift to a vehicle with nearly the same overall density as air. Aerostats include free balloons, airships, and moored balloons...
filled with natural gas
Natural gas
Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...
(because its main component, methane
Methane
Methane is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . It is the simplest alkane, the principal component of natural gas, and probably the most abundant organic compound on earth. The relative abundance of methane makes it an attractive fuel...
, is lighter than air
Lighter than air
Lighter than air refers to gases that are buoyant in air because they have densities lower than that of air .Some of these gases are used as lifting gases in lighter-than-air aircraft, which include free balloons, moored balloons, and airships, to make the whole craft, on average, lighter than air...
, natural gas can serve as a lifting gas
Lifting gas
Because of the Archimedes' principle, a lifting gas is required for aerostats to create buoyancy. Its density is lower than that of air . Only certain lighter than air gases are suitable as lifting gases.- Hot Air :...
).
As part of their plan Freudenberg took a job in a local gas refinery, and the two took an apartment in the 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...
neighborhood of Prenzlauer Berg
Prenzlauer Berg
Prenzlauer Berg is a locality of Berlin, in the borough of Pankow.Until 2001, Prenzlauer Berg was a borough of Berlin; in that year it was included in the borough of Pankow....
. In January and February, 1989, they began assembling a 13 meter tall by 11 meter diameter balloon out of polythene tents, which they cut into strips and taped together. On the evening of March 7 they decided that the wind conditions were favorable for their escape, and at midnight went to the station where Freudenberg worked and began to fill their balloon with gas. A young unemployed student noticed them, and called the local police at 1:30. They panicked when they saw a patrol car approach. Because the balloon was not yet full enough to lift both of them they decided for Freudenberg to escape alone, and cut the tether
Tether
A tether is a cord, fixture, or signal that anchors something movable to a reference point which may be fixed or moving. There are a number of applications for tethers: balloons, kites, tethered wind-energy conversion systems, anchors, tethered water-flow energy conversion systems, towing, animal...
cables with him inside. However, without Sabine there was not enough ballast
Buoyancy compensator (aviation)
The static buoyancy of airships during a trip is not constant. It is therefore necessary to take measures to control the buoyancy and thus the altitude, the so-called buoyancy compensation.-Changes which have an effect on buoyancy:...
and the balloon rose too fast. It severed a power line shortly after launching. Although East German security had often shot and killed citizens attempting to escape, they decided against shooting Freudenberg because of the possibility that bullets could trigger an explosion of the natural gas inside the balloon.
Freudenberg spent several hours aloft. He passed over the Berlin Tegel Airport in 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...
, where he apparently had intended to land, at an altitude of 2,000 meters. At 7:30 the next morning he fell into the garden of a villa in the suburb of Zehlendorf
Zehlendorf (Berlin)
Zehlendorf is a locality within the borough of Steglitz-Zehlendorf in Berlin. Before Berlin's 2001 administrative reform Zehlendorf was a borough in its own right, consisting of the locality of Zehlendorf as well as Wannsee, Nikolassee and Dahlem...
. The direct cause of the crash is unknown. The remains of the balloon came down on the median strip of a thoroughfare, whereas Freudenberg's body was discovered hours later and several blocks away in a back yard. Freudenberg evidently died instantly from injuries from his crash. Nearly every bone in his body had been broken and virtually every internal organ had been damaged.
After the incident, East German police investigated the friends, family, acquaintances, and colleagues of Freudenberg and his wife, to determine whether any had participated in the escape attempt. Because of international attention and pressure over the recent shooting over Chris Gueffroy
Chris Gueffroy
Chris Gueffroy was the last person to be shot while trying to escape to West Berlin across the Berlin Wall...
, the last refugee to be shot by East German border guards, Sabine was given the relatively lenient sentence of three years of probation, and then granted amnesty
Amnesty
Amnesty is a legislative or executive act by which a state restores those who may have been guilty of an offense against it to the positions of innocent people, without changing the laws defining the offense. It includes more than pardon, in as much as it obliterates all legal remembrance of the...
in October, 1989. The next month East Germany began allowing its citizens to travel to the west, and several months later the Berlin Wall
Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall was a barrier constructed by the German Democratic Republic starting on 13 August 1961, that completely cut off West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and from East Berlin...
was dismantled and the two countries reunified
German reunification
German reunification was the process in 1990 in which the German Democratic Republic joined the Federal Republic of Germany , and when Berlin reunited into a single city, as provided by its then Grundgesetz constitution Article 23. The start of this process is commonly referred by Germans as die...
.