Benito Corghi

Benito Corghi (26 May 1938 – 5 August 1976) was an Italian long-distance truckdriver, who was a victim of Border Troops of the German Democratic Republic on a border crossing point.

Benito Corghi
Born	26 May 1938
Died	5 August 1976
Nationality	Italian
Occupation	Long-distance Truckdriver

Background

Benito Corghi was an Italian long-distance truckdriver. In the morning of 5 August 1976 he crossed the border crossing at Hirschberg/Rudolphstein at the Bundesautobahn 9 into West Germany. Then he was going back as a pedestrian to pick up papers he forgot on the East German side.^[1] This was not allowed. When a guard shouted at him and ordered him to raise his hands, he did not understand, turned around and attempted to walk back, whereupon he was shot.^[2]

On the next day, the authorities of the GDR formally apologized for the "tragic accident". It was the only time in GDR history that such a formal apology was issued for a deadly occurrence along the inner-German border.^[3]

The shooter was acquitted in 1994 by the District Court (Landgericht) of Gera.^[4]

References

1. Sauer, Heiner; Plumeyer, Hans-Otto (1993). Der Salzgitter Report: die Zentrale Erfassungsstelle berichtet über Verbrechen im SED-Staat (in German). Ullstein. p. 99. ISBN 978-3-548-34980-0.
2. "Für Italiener unbegreiflich". Die Zeit (in German). 13 August 1976. Retrieved 17 August 2015.
3. Muro Berlino, l'italiano ucciso e dimenticato: Benito Corghi, camionista, militante del Pci, ferito a morte nel '76 dai Vopos by Alessandro De Lellis, in Il Messaggero on 8 November 2014 (in Italian)
4. "Richter hielten Tötungsabsicht für nicht erwiesen: Grenzschützen- Prozeß endete mit Freispruch". Berliner Zeitung (in German). 14 May 1994. Retrieved 17 August 2015.