Foreign Service of the TELEGRAM United States of America 13/1 OUTGOING u. s. lISSION BERLIN rot-
CONFIDENrIAL Classification USGOB Charge: Control: 29 1-1--3 POL.....3 Date: October 6, 1964 FA 1900 hrs EGO usrs ACTION: Secstate W PRIORITY 509 ASAG INFO: Am mbassy BONN 456 ro/u Amembassy LONDON 184 F&H Amembassy MOS CO\-I 187 mbassy PARIS 214 USAREUR/POLAD USCINCEUR/POLAD USElMLO USNMR SHAPE FOR IDRNS
PARIS .~O FOR USRO
SUBJEm': Tunnel Escape from East Berlin
Escape of 57 East German refugees October 3 and 4 through t unn I under Bernauerstrass (French Sector) has aroused great public interest here . During operation East German border brigade s rgeant apparently was killed under circumstances still not clear.
Escape effort was w ll-organi zed~ professional job. According one
s ource~ Free University students did actual work. ~~ anwhile# French have heard that Der Stern provided financing. I n any case# three Ger man press
and film representatives wer at scen and r eportedly paid 15~000 DM for rights on escape . Tutmel discovered 0030 October 5 by East German border guards shortly
after last r efugee passed through. r~chine pistol fire \-las h ard at Eastern entrana to tunnel. Observers saw man remov d from scene on stretcher and (Esp,n Schultz) East German Def ns Ministry subsequently announced ser ean1( had be n
"murdered by armed bandits from W st. It st Berlin police investigation of shooting was suddenly called off
Tuesday morning with no serious effort to clarify facts. ~lission officers have l earned that confidential inv stigation has been turned over to security 29/jm CONFIDENl.'IAL REPRODUCTION FROM THIS COpy IS C Iass iIicat i 0 1Z PROHIBITED UNLESS "UNCLASSIFIED"
OFFICIAL FILE COPY Foreign Service of the TELEGRAM United States of America OUTGOING
CONFIDENl'IAL Charge: Classification Control: 29 2 Date: agency (Lf'v). Manwhil , Senat official (S nberg ) told f\lission offic r that Senat had decided to investigate shooting. S nat concern d that, if hooting done by est Berlin r, d mand in one form or another can now be xpected from East for vlest Berlin to punish off nd r. Spangenberg bel i eves hot d bate might well follow tween those who would cheer action under any circumstance s and those who fe 1 l aw must al ays be upheld. had Ap ntly \1 s t Berlin poli ce i n turmel area~ known of its xis tence for sometime . They in fact loaned organizers several gas masks
and other equipment f or refusees to use during flight. T~o of masks cannot now be found and may have be n recover d in East Berlin, to e ther with other equipment. One probably bears name of We st Berlin policeman to whom it was issu d. E st Berlin pr ss has so f ar t reated incident, s cifical ly shooting and death of East German army non-com, in relative l y low key. "Neu D utschland fl Oct. 6 put s story on second pag (with Brezhn v, Ochab, and Lenart arriva l f or 15th GDR anniv rsa:ry cele ~ations on f i r s t). fiND" carri s ... fens i nistry press release on 'brutal, planned , treach rous murder" by \-/est r lin "agents." R 1 as states that "armed bandits" penet rated into GDR through t unne l drill d from I s t Berli n wi t h "approv 1 and active support" of West B-wrlin police, h l ped illegal escapes "under orders of ~.e st Berlin spy or ani zation, n and fir_d "aimed shot s" t hat c us d Schultz d ath. hort "ND" biography of victim stress s that h was mo 1 s oldi r wi th hi polit ical motivation (h was candidate SED m m r) . i ef ditor ial connn nt he de "\ a' d s S I t 'I1ant" att ac r·1ayor. _ r tz' "He lcomi ng infamous provoca ti n, " an asks Ihe thcr
of pa s mcnt r cont i nuati on f 10 d J. r vocat ions on " GD
border . It 8h ts at (Jehultz, "lID" add , shots a ai n. t pass COt-.IF ill .llTTAL REPRODUCTION FROM THIS COpy IS Classification PROHIBITED UNLESS "UNCLASSIFIED"
OFFICIAL FILE COpy Foreign Service of the TELEGRAM United States of America OUTGOING
Charge: Classification Control: 29 ) Date:
Carom nt: Dr atic. s through tunn 1 an non-com's d t h aI'_ both" mbarr ssi ng to r r cisel y coincident with arrival hi f or i
gu s ts fOI' GD 15th anniv rsary. He ' s normal incline.;;.tion to mak<
prop da hay about ~!Jt r lin as "divcrsional:'Y col ar c nter/ r rna
ther fore te to d i v~r t a t tention from incident.
For 1 st rlin" on at r hand, evid c of ac tiv poliCe participation in sca "cou guard, could prov ...mbarrassing de ndi on facts which actually r and public handli of tilem . Withdr wal of inv stigation from polic an s obvious ly done with a i m of t reati matter ing rly . Connection of affair with n wl y inaugurated ass program, hint d at by trND," c rtainly i n minds of Senat lead rs a s l-lell. GP-3. CAIROU
POL:JLCarsoq/EA:F han:af 6/1845
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OFFICIAL FILE COpy 0009 2 -- Foreign Service of the TELEGRAM United States of America 14/2 OUTGOING
4 CONFIDENTIAL Charge: Classification Control: USCOB 092 POL-2 Date: EAS 15 Oct. 1964 ECON 6:30 P.M. ACT IO EC TATE ASH USIS 564 ASAG :,v'I . IO/U .... u . Au 8l'lbassy TIC' T 502 PS AL embassy lJJN T 204 F&R Amembas sy ARIS 240 AmelUbas s:r HCSCO~I; 207 USlJHR SHAPE . BUR JS U AREUR FOR POLAD
C CEUR I R POL USELl
PAJIS ALSO lOR U no
J : Tunnel Killinr and Possessi on of Wea ons Civilians
Be l intel 552 to Dept, 492 to Bonn
At Deputy Commandants ' ITeeting Octob r l r Cha~man Cu ) reported on his
dis llssion Oc ober 14 wi t.l. 2Iayor Alber z concerning t unne_ i lling. Al ber t z
said 'udicial pr ocess had not yet reached st a-e where inve~tigating
l.iaei strate coul d call f or f ull scal e inquiry but tr..is w ul d be done . Afte
such inqliry magistrate co d decide Thether or not t rial 0 cour t
r oc e djn~ s were all ed f or. -llien Brit i sh eputy pre s d him on act t hat
u se of vreapons cons uituted p1.U1i shab e of fense, I bert z said thi s 'ioula
pro abl y .. e ul t . n fine for in i vi duals co eerned . Co "- cerning pol :' __ e
par ticipation, Al bert co rrnented tha u Lhis hac. not been greater than in
prev:"ous tunnel ca es. Poli ce ha not ctuall y gone bey n s t'!d in~
inst r uct.ions ex ept i n loan 0 gas mask t o t unnel ers, in hich e sai
:" hey haa ehaved stupi ' y. eXU ,FTD b:!JTTAI. REPRODUOION FROM THIS COpy IS Classification PROHIBITED UNLESS "UNCLASSIFIED"
OFFICIAL FILE COpy Foreign Servi(e of the TELEGRAM United States of Ameri(a OUTGOING
Charge: Control: 092 - 2 - Date:
Deput y 01fl1a dants a , 'ee ~ to re ue s Pu 1 ° Safet - Commi tee subL..:..t
1 epa!' ' on u e of re pons ::'n connection with t Ii in ident . Al so a .- ced
o kee) in c e 'eh i th enat on pr '- res s of legal proceed:i 11gs ,
t10ugh considere ' AllO ed conce n had b ~de adeq at 1 cl are GP-4
L OUN
092/1 4/2/sc
~-ARDav : r.: i _5/180'
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OFFICIAL FILE COpy Foreign Service of the TELEGRAM United States of America 14/2 OUTGOING US l1ISSION BE RLIN 00078
POL-3 Ft COl'! FIDENTIAL USCOB Charge: Classification Control: 078 1 ~ S Date: 2 L,-,J3 r:!;CON 13 Oct . 19'64 USIS 5:45 P.M. ASAG SecSta-e 'lAS H DC 552 Io/u PS INFO Amembassy BO H 492 F&R Amemb a s s y La DON 201 Amembassy PARIS 235 Amembassy OSCO vl 204 US NMR SHAPE FOR BURNS USAREUR FO POLAD CI CEUR rOR POLAD USELMLO.
PARIS ALSO FOR USRO
SUBJ Tunnel Killing and Possession of Weapons by C'ivilians
RI:F Berlintel 536
In discussing above subject October 12 Deputy Comma nd
ants a greed there was little that Allies could or should
do in circumstances since matter b e ing han dled b y Ge rman
court, which properly had jurisdiction. Chairman De puty
(UK) will reiterate to Senat Allied concern over unauthor
ized possess ion of weapons by vest tierlin civilians. latter forcefully has already been mentioned/to GovHayor by new Fre nch
Commandant Binoche.
We have heard, meanwhile, tha t killing l argely char ge
a ble to poor organization a t last minute and inexperience
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OFFICIAL FILE COPY Foreign Service of the TELEGRAM United States of America OUTGOING us
CONFIDENTIAL Charge: Classification Control: 078 -2 Date: of lookouts posted a t Ea st Berlin tunnel entr ance. Ce r tain
key personnel in escape orgdni z ation vlere not on scene a t
critic 1 mm~nt. Otherwise, k illing might have b e en avoide d .
Unfortun te t urn of events in this successful e scape also
reportedly c a ps growing dissension wi t h in t his particula r
escape orga niza tion, which is virtually only e f fecti ve tunnel
group l e ft out of some ten that once operated. Its d issolu=
t ion a nd t h e circu stances of t h is escape could bri n an end
t o this f orm of exfiltration f r om East Berlin .
GP 4 I
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0L:JLC r sonl : J ACalhoun: mmh i1131720
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OFFICIAL FILE COpy Foreign Service of the TELEGRAM United States of America ~/2 OUTGOING U _u I JB . LI 7 ,/ - USCOB Charge: Classification Control: 061 0 0 0 6 1 M-3 POL-2 Date: 10 Oct. 1964 ECON 2:30 P.N. usrs A AG CTliif: Se State ASH 538 ro/u PS I JFO : F&R I'
p Is f \I
-' UBJE CT : Deat h o ~' ha st Ge Ian GUcLrd in Tunnel .l.!J cLv pe
e Berl intel 536 D pt, 480 onn
Oct . 10 Ea t Ber l in press r nt- pages ( 1" th p ' ct e) epor of
o 9 e ~al ~ e vices or GD1 or der 5uard shot in tunn 1 i nci e t .
~ r ic h onecker , S D Pol ' t buro merber , p ono ed f une al addr es s ,
mal i followin n i n ojnts: (1 ) CDR a s ' est Berli en t ou i t
reconc' lcs all i t talk a t ~ umanen s e with act th t tunnel wa
d g n th oler ati on 0 'ena' , 0; di d t u _e1 1 .andits" h!l v posse ssi o.
Test Berl in p i cc \>lea ons and ho v l ong !il l Se. l et "mur erer "
go ree . (2 ) ho ~er e ~l s o ~ h ts aga ' st Berl in ass
a re IDP. t . D ~ ~s deterrrined, des i t e a 1 pr vocatio s, t o 'ontinue
poli cy of un ot lding a nd 0 mal izat' on 0 el a ll ' ons ldth \J st Berlin,
o TDFU'IlLL REPRODUCTION FROM THIS COPY IS PROHIBITED UNLESS "UNCWSIFIED"
OFFICIAL FILE COpy Foreign Service of the TELEGRAM United States of America OUTGOING
CO~FID~NTIAL Charge: Classification Control: 061 - 2 Date:
b ca's sue pol ' cy i c ' i tere t u 0 Ge Ja nation . (4) It w ld,
ver belcGs, be , 'stak to imagine that GD~ pa i elce is 0 dless.
I ' rderers" and those eh ° d them will not esca e uni ru.,e!lt . Anme ty
ftran d forme r ; st e n agents 0 occ sion GDR l5t anni e sa y is not
licens f r "nev. , acts of fo ce . ': confirms Honeco er I point 31ft a not rpt not inten or de guard as pret sic pol icJ r ve sal on
Berlin pass agreement . Agreemen epresents broad 01' cy d c ·~ sion ~
at' ec ing not only R °nt ere ts b t , more im ort ntl y, \.J ov ' nter st ·
Sovs d G R mu t hay ass e f 0 _ out et t at al l inci dents otl
O cont inu.e i J. r od of new agreem nt . Inci ent s 1'e , in other :'l r ds,
b 'It - in r:'s nd GDR wer p epared to accept. -4.
061/34/2/se
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Foreign Service of the TELEGRAM United States of America 31/4 OUTGOING U~ MISSION BERLIN
CONFIDENTIAL Charge: C lass ifi cat i 0 11 Control :, 59 POL-3 / .J" _ ~ eTlON: Secstate TaJ ASH 536 Date: October 9, 1964 USCG 1930 hrs M-3 I NFO: membassy BONN 480 EA membassv LONDON ( BO U ~H) ECON Amembassy NOSCO'·J " USlS A mbassy FI\ RIB " ASAG U J1 REUR/POLAD " lo/u URCINCF.UR/POLAn " F&R. U"!EIMLO II US SHAPE FOR BURNS II POD CH: 18 "
~UBJ: neath of East German Guard in Tunnel Escape
REF: Berlintel 509 to Dept., 456 to Borm
Despite eneral satisfaction over last weekend's mass tunnel
escape, killing of East German border guard has raised number of
moral and political ques tions in west Berlin.
In describing escape, ~enat off icials told us there was no
actual exchange of fire . They said We s t Berlin lookouts at eastern
end of tunnel had held t wo l ate and unknown arrivals at gunpoint
while escapees were passing through tunnel, but had then permitted
them to seek a third man supposedly so that all three could escape.
'Ihird man turned out to be East Ger an border guard Egon Bchultz.
Although Schultz was wearing civilian topcoat, lookouts could see
his uniform collar. en one of East German civilians whispered
to Schultz to get readYI one of lookouts opened fire at point blank
range and kept firing until gun was empty. west Berliners then fled 59/jm CONFIIENTT AL REPRODUCTION FROM THIS COpy IS Classi/ica tio1t PROHIBITED UNLESS "UNCLASSIFIED"
OFFICIAL FILE COpy Foreign Service of the TELEGRAM United States of America OUTGOING
CONFIDENTIAL Charge: Classification Control: 59 a t al -2 Date: leaving guns, including/weapon, ammunition and gas nasks behind.
East German civilians, mean hile, disappeared as soon as firing
started. Border patrol arrived shortly thereafter and fired automatic
weapons into tunnel, but ~ est Berliners had already reached safety.
West Berlin editorial comment on incident has generally followed
~e nat line, which has been to regret border guard's death but point is out that the wall in the end ~ responsible.
Case h s been placed in hands of prosecuting attorney and
i nvestigation has been turned back to police. \ccording ~enat
off i ci al (Rpangenberg) trial must now almost certainly t ake place
and Senat can do nothing to prevent it. He believes trial will be
in camera and that plea of self -defense will be made. 8tae6f&~ Als.q ,*11"'" involved is illegal possession of weapons. Licensing of
weapons i s reserved Allied power and thus this aspect of case i s
of particular interest to Allies. Qpangenberg states legal action i e l ude will presumably /~ this point.
With 15th anniversary celebrations being given maaimum coverage
in past week, GDR media have so far pla:\red border guard I s death in
relatively moderat e fashion. ~torv got f ront-pa e treatment for
f irst time in "Neues Deutschland" Oct. 9, da" of guard's funeral.
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OFFICIAL FILE COpy Foreign Service of the TELEGRAM United States of America OUTGOING
CONFIDRNTIAL Charge: Classification Control: 59 -3 Date: "Neues Deutschland" cited West German press reports about support for
escape operation on part of lJest Berlin CDU, West Berlin police, and
"stern" magazine. Paper said West Berlin Senat shared ilt for guard's
death, and it repeated question posed in earlier comment whether ~ena t
wants Berlin passes and relaxation of tension or cold war. East Berlin
authorities expelled "Stern" correspondents who planned to cover 15th
anniversary celebrations on grounds magazineltmade common cause with
murderers. It g n rally. .,. i h erlin Comment: It has been/assumed for some time/ that tunnel organiza
tions and possibly other escape operators were ar ed. This has caused
some uneasiness aJ ong Allies and knowledgable West Berliners. It was
also evident, however, that tunnel operations were so risk'T that it
was unrealistic to expect people involved not to arm themselves.
Public r eaction to any determined attempt to deny arms to such people
would likely be negative.
German authorities have apparently decided that cognizance must
be taken of laws relating to murder and possession of arms in this Procee d,~gs may be · case. ~ ~I~l~ little more than formality~
however. Meanwhile, l Ilies are considering whether there is action
they should take regarding possession of arms, given fundamental
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OFFICIAL FILE COpy Foreign Servi(e of the TELEGRAM United States of Ameri(a OUTGOING
CnNFIDENTI L Charge: Classification Control: 59 -4 Date: dilel posed bv this issue •
.flS for qenat rS version of guard rs death, it based on careful r e r sents f cts 5 given t o Zenat. investigation and presumablv/~ i ssion is struck none
theless by several curiosities in case. Me mav find in the end sOli1clh a t that a/~ different storv will emerge.
GP-4
JTCarson/ftRn~V/EflQ:F eehan/dhc 1730/9 Oct 1964
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