Person met untimely demise 65 years ago, named Manfred Smolka.
In the quiet town of Titschendorf, Germany, a memorial stone now stands as a testament to a tragic story of injustice that unfolded over six decades ago. This is the tale of Manfred Smolka, a lieutenant in the DDR border police, who met his untimely end on July 12, 1960.
Born in Upper Silesia in 1930, Smolka joined the SED in 1948 and became a border policeman. His life took a dramatic turn in 1958 when he resisted an order to "strengthen border security," leading to his demotion and eventual dismissal.
The following year, Smolka was shot by a murder squad of the "State Security" near the inner German border. His body was cremated, and the death certificate listed the cause of death as "heart attack." However, his farewell letter, requesting a burial, was suppressed and never delivered to his widow, Waltraud Smolka.
Waltraud's quest for truth began in December 1964 when she wrote to the public prosecutor's office asking for information about her husband's whereabouts. Her requests for information and an official death certificate were met with silence from the authorities. It wasn't until October 15, 1965, more than five years after his death, that the death certificate was finally sent to Waltraud.
In 1965, Waltraud once again turned to the public prosecutor's office, demanding an official death certificate. Her persistence was rewarded in 1990 when she and her daughter filed a criminal complaint against Erich Honecker for manslaughter and abuse of power. However, the criminal case against Honecker was delayed until his departure to Chile in 1993, and Waltraud's lawsuit against the PDS, the successor party to the SED, for damages in 1998 was unsuccessful.
The exact time of Waltraud Smolka's death and the precise cause are not specified, but her requests for information in December 1964 indicate a lack of transparency from the authorities at that time.
The story of Manfred Smolka was brought to light by Klaus Schmude's book published in 1992, and in 2017, a memorial stone for Smolka was unveiled in Titschendorf, serving as a reminder of a life cut short by injustice and a struggle for truth that continued long after his death.
Read also:
- Impact of Alcohol on the Human Body: Nine Aspects of Health Alteration Due to Alcohol Consumption
- Understanding the Concept of Obesity
- Lu Shiow-yen's Challenging Position as Chair of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Under Scrutiny in Donovan's Analysis
- Tough choices on August 13, 2025 for those born under Aquarius? Consider the advantages and disadvantages to gain guidance
