1974 Berlin Wall murder: Ex-Stasi officer faces charges

A former member of the Stasi secret police in East Germany has been accused of murdering a man in 1974. The victim was shot in the back while crossing a security checkpoint into West Germany. According to state prosecutors, the defendant, who was 31 at the time, was instructed by the Stasi to "neutralize" the Polish man. The 79-year-old ex-Stasi member could face life imprisonment if convicted, but his identity has not been disclosed. Prosecutors claim that the victim entered the Polish embassy in East Berlin with a fake bomb, demanding to be allowed to cross into West Germany. The Stasi allegedly granted him permission but simultaneously ordered the hitman to eliminate him. The man was eventually taken to a crossing point at Friedrichstrasse railway station, where he passed security checks before being fatally shot from a hidden location. The Berlin Wall, established in 1961 to prevent people from fleeing to the West, forbade East Germans from crossing. However, foreign citizens with proper documentation were allowed to cross. Despite armed guards and orders to shoot escapees, people still attempted to breach the wall by climbing over or tunneling under it. In 1989, the wall was dismantled after border guards mistakenly received orders to permit people to cross, coinciding with a crisis in the communist regime. The Stasi gained notoriety for its extensive surveillance of East Germany's population, often coercing citizens into spying on one another.