The Günter Litfin Memorial - Berlin Wall Foundation
The Günter Litfin Memorial is part of the Berlin Wall Foundation. The purpose of the foundation is to document and convey the history of the Berlin Wall and the mass migration from the German Democratic Republic as a part and contributory factor of the German division and the East–West conflict in the 20th century. It also aims to preserve historical sites and authentic remains and to provide for a worthy commemoration of the victims of communist tyranny.
The memorial at Kieler Eck is a former command post of the GDR border troops at the Berlin-Spandau Schifffahrtskanal (located in today‘s district Berlin Mitte). After the Wall fell, it was established as a memorial to one of the first victims of the Wall: Günter Litfin. It is both a document of the border regime and a testament to its victims.
On 24 August 1961, Günter Litfin was shot and killed by members of the transport police as he attempted to flee to West Berlin. He became the first victim of shots fired at the border between East and West Berlin after the Wall went up on 13 August 1961. This memorial was established in memory of Günter Litfin and of all the other victims of the SED regime who were killed or injured on the GDR border.
The memorial was initiated by private citizens at the site of a former command post of GDR border troops and is maintained by an organization founded by the brother of Günter Litfin.
Günter’s brother, Jürgen Litfin (1940-2018), at first tried to adjust to conditions in the GDR. After his request to emigrate was rejected, he was arrested for allegedly assisting in an escape. The West German government paid for his release from prison and he moved to West Berlin with his family in 1981. But the memory of his brother would not let him go.
After the Wall fell, Jürgen Litfin lobbied to have the former command station preserved. Thanks to his civic commitment, the watchtower was left standing amidst new housing construction. On August 24, 2003, he opened a memorial site dedicated to the Berlin Wall and its first fatally shot victim. He founded an association that maintained the site until 2017 when it was entrusted to the Berlin Wall Foundation.
