Hildegard Trabant

June 12, 1927 (age 37)

Berlin, Germany

They lived in a rather upscale apartment complex on Tilsiter Strasse 64 (today Richard-Sorge-Straße 64), near Strausberger Platz, in the Friedrichshain district of Berlin. Possibly facilitating their residence there, she held a managerial position in a municipal housing administration. Whatever led her to attempt to flee East Germany was probably of a personal nature, involving domestic disputes. At 6:50PM on August 18, 1964, Hildegard Trabant attempted to cross the border between East and West Berlin. She was discovered by East German border guards and subsequently shot. She died about an hour later at the Krankenhaus der Volkspolizei (now the Bundeswehr Krankenhaus). She was 37 years old. Hildegard Trabant was one of only eight women killed at the Berlin wall, among the total of at least 138 victims. Further, of all the Berlin Wall victims that were classified as escapees/attempted escapees, she was probably the only one who was loyal to the East German regime. Hildegard Trabant was buried on September 23, 1964 at the Frieden-Himmelfahrt Cemetery (now the Evangelischer Friedhof Nordend), north of Pankow, in Rosenthal. She was buried in a "linear grave", meaning, a grave which expired after the lawful regulated 20 years of resting allowed under German Democratic Republic law without becoming a "family grave"—the family continues to maintain, or another family member is buried more recently there. This period of resting "expired" in 1984, and this particular section of the cemetery was rearranged. Her urn is still there, like all urns buried there, but it"s now under another grave number, and under another name on the tombstone. Previously, her grave number was UH Him - 234a. The "new" grave number is UH Him - B102. Unlike almost all other deaths at the Berlin Wall, Hildegard Trabant"s death went totally unnoticed in West Berlin. lieutenant would be 26 years later (October 1990) when the 1964 East Berlin files were given to the German federal judiciary. After a lengthy trial, Kurt Renner, the guard who shot her, was found guilty of manslaughter, and sentenced to one year and nine months in prison, which was commuted later to probation. Also unlike almost all other deaths at the Berlin wall, it was obvious that when she was actually shot, she had abandoned her attempt to escape East Berlin, and was merely fleeing back towards the inner wall, to avoid arrest.

Hildegard Trabant

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Background

Hildegard Trabant was born in Berlin and grew up there.

Career

They lived in a rather upscale apartment complex on Tilsiter Strasse 64 (today Richard-Sorge-Straße 64), near Strausberger Platz, in the Friedrichshain district of Berlin. Possibly facilitating their residence there, she held a managerial position in a municipal housing administration. Whatever led her to attempt to flee East Germany was probably of a personal nature, involving domestic disputes.

At 6:50PM on August 18, 1964, Hildegard Trabant attempted to cross the border between East and West Berlin.

She was discovered by East German border guards and subsequently shot. She died about an hour later at the Krankenhaus der Volkspolizei (now the Bundeswehr Krankenhaus).

She was 37 years old. Hildegard Trabant was one of only eight women killed at the Berlin wall, among the total of at least 138 victims.

Further, of all the Berlin Wall victims that were classified as escapees/attempted escapees, she was probably the only one who was loyal to the East German regime.

Hildegard Trabant was buried on September 23, 1964 at the Frieden-Himmelfahrt Cemetery (now the Evangelischer Friedhof Nordend), north of Pankow, in Rosenthal. She was buried in a "linear grave", meaning, a grave which expired after the lawful regulated 20 years of resting allowed under German Democratic Republic law without becoming a "family grave"—the family continues to maintain, or another family member is buried more recently there. This period of resting "expired" in 1984, and this particular section of the cemetery was rearranged.

Her urn is still there, like all urns buried there, but it"s now under another grave number, and under another name on the tombstone.

Previously, her grave number was UH Him - 234a. The "new" grave number is UH Him - B102.

Unlike almost all other deaths at the Berlin Wall, Hildegard Trabant"s death went totally unnoticed in West Berlin. lieutenant would be 26 years later (October 1990) when the 1964 East Berlin files were given to the German federal judiciary.

After a lengthy trial, Kurt Renner, the guard who shot her, was found guilty of manslaughter, and sentenced to one year and nine months in prison, which was commuted later to probation.

Also unlike almost all other deaths at the Berlin wall, it was obvious that when she was actually shot, she had abandoned her attempt to escape East Berlin, and was merely fleeing back towards the inner wall, to avoid arrest.

Politics

She was loyal to the East German regime. She joined the Socialist Unity Party in 1949, which was the same year that the German Democratic Republic was founded. Here, she was valued as an active party member.

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Hildegard Trabant

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