Ida Siekmann


Ida Siekmann, at the Window of Remembrance,
Berlin Wall Memorial, Bernauer Straße (2011)

Born: 23 August 1902; Gorken, West Prussia, German Empire
Died: 22 August 1961 (aged 58); West Berlin, West Germany
Cause of death: Fall injuries
Body discovered: Bernauer Strasse 48; 52.5402°N 13.4029°E

Ida Siekmann (23 August 1902 – 22 August 1961) was a German nurse who became the first known person to die at the Berlin Wall, only nine days after the beginning of its construction.

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Death

On 13 August 1961, East Germany began the construction of the Berlin Wall, and immediately after the border between East and West Berlin was closed numerous families and individuals from 50 Bernauer Straße addresses fled to the West. On 18 August 1961, East German leader Walter Ulbricht ordered the border troops to brick up the entrances and windows on the ground floor of the buildings on the southern side of the street. Members of the Combat Groups of the Working Class and Volkspolizei controlled every person who tried to enter the houses, and the residents were subject to rigid controls, even in the hallways. Many residents of such tenements still fled to West Berlin, as residents of the upper floors were often rescued by jumping-sheets held open by the West Berlin fire department.

On 21 August, the entrance and windows of Bernauer Straße 48 were being barred by the East German authorities. The following morning, the day before her 59th birthday, Siekmann threw a quilt and some possessions down onto the street in West Berlin before she jumped out of the window of her fourth floor (by North American standards, third floor by German standards) apartment. Siekmann jumped before the firefighters were able to properly open the jumping-sheet, and was severely injured when she fell on the pavement. Siekmann died while on her way to the Lazarus Hospital shortly after the fall, thus becoming the first known casualty at the Berlin Wall.

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