A former officer of East Germany’s secret police, the Stasi, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for the 1974 murder of a Polish man who was attempting to flee to West Berlin.
The officer whose last name was not given because of privacy law, identified as Martin Manfred N, now age 80, was convicted of shooting 38-year-old Czeslaw Kukuczka in the back at Friedrichstrasse station in East Berlin.
The case remained hidden for decades due to the deliberate destruction of Stasi records before East Germany’s reunification with the West in 1991.
However, persistent investigations by historians and Polish authorities led to the discovery of critical documents, allowing Berlin prosecutors to bring charges against Martin Manfred N in 2023.
Kukuczka, a firefighter and father of three, entered the Polish embassy in East Berlin on March 29, 1974, claiming—falsely—that he was carrying a bomb.
He demanded safe passage to West Berlin, seeking refuge in democratic West Germany. Stasi officers complied with his demands by providing an exit visa and money before escorting him to Friedrichstrasse station, which connected East and West Berlin.
Despite successfully passing several border checks, Kukuczka was shot in the back before reaching the western part of the station.
Witnesses, including a group of schoolchildren from West Germany, reported seeing the fatal shooting, and shortly after, East German officials sealed off the area.
For many years, Kukuczka’s family was left in the dark about his fate, only receiving his ashes weeks after his murder. It was only after historians reconstituted shredded Stasi files that the full details of the killing came to light.
The trial, which began after Poland issued a European arrest warrant for Martin Manfred N in 2021, is seen as having deep historical significance, akin to other post-Cold War trials of individuals involved in East Germany’s repressive regime.
Throughout the trial, the defendant maintained his innocence, with his lawyer arguing that there was no concrete proof that he committed the murder.
The conviction represents a rare moment of accountability for crimes committed under the former East German dictatorship, which was established by the Soviet Union after the Second World War and reunified with West Germany in 1991.
