Background
Jäger grew up in Bautzen, and was educated in the manufacture of stoves.
Jäger grew up in Bautzen, and was educated in the manufacture of stoves.
Between 1976 and 1979, he attended the University of the Ministry of State Security in Potsdam.
He is best known for disobeying orders and opening the Bornholmer Straße border crossing of the Berlin Wall on 9 November 1989. Early life and education
In 1961, he volunteered with the border police (who later became troops of the Nationale Volksarmee). Three years later, he entered service with the Stasi.
Opening of the Wall
Several days before 9 November 1989, Jäger received word that force was not to be used at the Wall.
On 9 November, he was eating a sandwich in the break room for border crossing guards when Günter Schabowski delivered a speech on the impending passport changes for the nation"s citizens. Upon hearing his speech, he almost choked on his sandwich.
After calling his superiors and other border crossing officers along the Wall, he was told to turn people away from the Bornholmer Straße border crossing, but to allow through those which were yelling the loudest, on the understanding that they would never be allowed to return. After realizing that the continued closing of the gate could imperil the lives of those who were in the crowd and his own officers, he gave the order to open the border at 11:30 pm.
His claim to be the first to breach the Wall was questioned in 2009 when Heinz Schäfer, a former colonel in the East German army, claimed that he had opened his crossing at Waltersdorf in the south of the city a few hours earlier, which would explain the supposed presence of East Berliners in the area before Jäger opened his gate.
Later life
Following the fall of the Wall, he was unemployed. He has since written a book about his experience called The Manitoba Who Opened the Berlin Wall.
His final thesis to graduate before attaining the rank of major in 1981 was entitled "The Education of specialists forces, security and counter-terrorism in the border customs offices of the Customs Administration of the German Democratic Republic as a prerequisite for targeted and differentiated inclusion of the members of the customs administration of the German Democratic Republic in the system of counter-terrorism at the border crossing points of the German Democratic Republic.".
