Ida Siekmann: Difference between revisions

Ida Siekmann
Ida Siekmann
	Ida Siekmann, at the Window of Remembrance, Berlin Wall Memorial
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°32′25″N 13°24′10″E / 52.5402°N 13.4029°E
Resting place	Urnenfriedhof Seestraße Berlin-Wedding; 52°33′08″N 13°21′16″E / 52.5521°N 13.3544°E
Monuments	"Window of Remembrance", Berlin
Known for	First casualty at the Berlin Wall

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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.

Biography

Ida Siekmann's grave, at the Urnenfriedhof Seestraße [de], Berlin-Wedding (2011)

Ida Siekmann was born on 23 August 1902, in Gorken near Marienwerder, West Prussia in the German Empire (now Górki, Kwidzyn County, Poland). She had moved to Berlin where she worked as a nurse, and by August 1961 was already a widow, although it is not known when she was widowed.^[1] Siekmann lived at Bernauer Straße 48 in the district of Mitte, and had a sister, Martha L., who lived only a few blocks away on Lortzingstraße.^[2]^[3]^[4]

After World War II, Berlin was divided into four Allied sectors, and while the street and the sidewalk of the Bernauer Straße lay in the French sector of West Berlin, the frontage of the buildings on the southern side lay in the Soviet sector of East Berlin. Siekmann regularly crossed the border between the French and Soviet sectors just by leaving her house.^[3] Siekmann's sister at Lortzingstraße was located in the French sector of West Berlin.^[4]

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.^[5] 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.^[3]

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 third-floor (by German standards, fourth-floor by North American 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.^[6]^[7]^[8] Siekmann died while on her way to the Lazarus Hospital shortly after the fall, thus becoming the first known casualty at the Berlin Wall.^[5]^[6]

Burial

Siekmann was buried at the Seestraße cemetery on 29 August; in September a memorial was erected at Bernauer Straße 48. The memorial was often visited by foreign politicians, including Robert F. Kennedy and Archbishop Makarios, to honour the victims of the Berlin Wall.^[3]

The houses on the southern side of Bernauer Straße were torn down in 1963 and replaced by a concrete wall.^[9]^[10]

Literature

Hans-Hermann Hertle, Maria Nooke, The deaths at the Berlin Wall 1961–1989: a biographical handbook (ed. the Centre for Contemporary History Potsdam and the Berlin Wall Foundation). Links, Berlin 2009, ISBN 978-3-86153-517-1, pp. 36–38

References

^ Bild Zeitung article, "Dem Opfer der Unfreiheit", 29 August 1961 (in German).
^ Peter Galante and Jack Miller, "The Berlin Wall" (pp 79–80), 1 January 1965, Arthur Baker Ltd., ASIN B0000CMM6U.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Biography at Chronik der Mauer.de (in German).
^ ^a ^b Hamburger Abendblatt article "In der Tasche der Toten fand man die Adresse der Schwester", 23 August 1961 (in German).
^ ^a ^b Die Erste und der Letzte Die Welt, 13 August 2010 (in German).
^ ^a ^b Sprung in den Tod Deutschlandradio Kultur (in German).
^ Die Berliner Mauer Focus, 19 October 2009 (in German).
^ Forscher korrigieren in neuer Studie Zahl der Mauertoten Archived 31 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine Berliner Morgenpost 8 August 2008 (in German).
^ Berlin Wall Memorial, Clue #390
^ Berlin Wall Memorial, Clue #397

External links

[Bild-1] Bild Zeitung article, "Dem Opfer der Unfreiheit", 29 August 1961 (in German).

[2] Peter Galante and Jack Miller, "The Berlin Wall" (pp 79–80), 1 January 1965, Arthur Baker Ltd., ASIN B0000CMM6U.

[CDM-3] Biography at Chronik der Mauer.de (in German).

[HA-4] Hamburger Abendblatt article "In der Tasche der Toten fand man die Adresse der Schwester", 23 August 1961 (in German).

[Welt-5] Die Erste und der Letzte Die Welt, 13 August 2010 (in German).

[DR-6] Sprung in den Tod Deutschlandradio Kultur (in German).

[7] Die Berliner Mauer Focus, 19 October 2009 (in German).

[8] Forscher korrigieren in neuer Studie Zahl der Mauertoten Archived 31 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine Berliner Morgenpost 8 August 2008 (in German).

[mobi1-9] Berlin Wall Memorial, Clue #390

[mobi2-10] Berlin Wall Memorial, Clue #397

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@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{Short description|First known person to die at the Berlin Wall}}
+{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2024}}
 {{Infobox person
 | name                      = Ida Siekmann
-| image                     = Idasiekmannbz.jpg
+| image                     = Window idasiekmann.jpg
+| caption = Ida Siekmann, at the Window of Remembrance, [[Gedenkstätte Berliner Mauer|Berlin Wall Memorial]]
-| caption = This photo of Ida Siekmann appeared in the Berlin newspaper ''Bild Zeitung'' on 23 August 1961, the day following her death on what would have been her 59th birthday
 | birth_date                = {{Birth date|1902|08|23|df=yes}}
-| birth_place               = [[Górki, Kwidzyn County|Gorken]], [[West Prussia]], [[German Empire]]
+| birth_place               = [[Górki, Kwidzyn County|Gorken]], West Prussia, German Empire
 | death_date                = {{Death date and age|1961|08|22|1902|08|23|df=yes}}
-| death_place               = [[West Berlin]], [[West Germany]]
+| death_place               = [[West Berlin]], West Germany
+| death_cause               = [[Falling (accident)|Fall injuries]]
-| death_cause               = Leapt from third floor apartment (by European standards)/fourth floor apartment (North American Standards) window on Bernauer Straße to reach West Berlin
-| body_discovered           = [[Bernauer Strasse]] 48<br />{{Coord|52.5402|13.4029|display=inline|region:DE-BE_type:landmark|name=Site of Ida Siekmann fatality}}
+| body_discovered           = [[Bernauer Straße]] 48<br />{{Coord|52.5402|13.4029|display=inline|region:DE-BE_type:landmark|name=Site of Ida Siekmann fatality}}
 | party                     =
 | resting_place             = Urnenfriedhof Seestraße [[Wedding (Berlin)|Berlin-Wedding]]
 | resting_place_coordinates = {{Coord|52.5521|13.3544|display=inline|region:DE-BE_type:landmark|name=Location of Ida Siekmann's grave}}
-| monuments                 = "Window Of Remembrance", Berlin
+| monuments                 = "Window of Remembrance", Berlin
-| residence                 = Bernauer Strasse 48, Berlin N58, GDR
 | known_for                 = First casualty at the [[Berlin Wall]]
 }}
-'''Ida Siekmann''' (23 August 1902 – 22 August 1961) was a [[Germany|German]] nurse who became the [[Deaths at the Berlin Wall|first known person to die]] at the [[Berlin Wall]], only nine days after the beginning of its construction.
+'''Ida Siekmann''' (23 August 1902 – 22 August 1961) was a German nurse who became the [[List of deaths at the Berlin Wall|first known person to die]] at the [[Berlin Wall]], only nine days after the beginning of its construction.
 ==Biography==
-[[File:Window idasiekmann.jpg|left|thumb|Ida Siekmann, at the Window of Remembrance, [[Gedenkstätte Berliner Mauer|Berlin Wall Memorial]], Bernauer Straße (2011)]]
 [[File:Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-F013004-0001, Berlin, Staatsbesuch Präsident von Zypern.jpg|thumb| [[Makarios III]], [[President of Cyprus]], at the Siekmann memorial (1962)]]
-[[File:Idagrave.jpg|thumb|Ida Siekmann's grave, at the Urnenfriedhof Seestrasse, Berlin-Wedding (2011)]]
+[[File:Idagrave.jpg|thumb|Ida Siekmann's grave, at the {{ill|Urnenfriedhof Seestraße|de}}, Berlin-Wedding (2011)]]
-[[File:Berlin_Bernauer_Straße_48_Mahnmal_Ida_Siekmann_078927.jpg|thumb|Bernauer Straße 48 (and 47c to the far right) in June 1965. Annotations (on the Wikimedia Commons version of this page) show Ida Siekmann's front door and the fourth-floor window that she jumped from.]]
+[[File:Berlin_Bernauer_Straße_48_Mahnmal_Ida_Siekmann_078927.jpg|thumb|Bernauer Straße 48 (and 47c to the far right) in June 1965. Annotations (on the Wikimedia Commons version of this page) show Ida Siekmann's front door and the window that she jumped from, three floors above the ground floor.]]
-Ida Siekmann was born on 23 August, 1902, in [[Górki, Kwidzyn County|Gorken]] near [[Marienwerder]], [[West Prussia]] in the [[German Empire]] (now Górki, [[Kwidzyn County]], [[Poland]]). She had moved to [[Berlin]] where she worked as a [[nurse]], and by August 1961 was already a [[widow]], although it is not known when she was widowed.<ref name=Bild>''Bild Zeitung'' article, "Dem Opfer der Unfreiheit", 29 August 1961 {{de icon}}.</ref> Siekmann lived at [[Bernauer Straße]] 48 in the district of [[Mitte]], and had a sister, Martha L., who lived only a few blocks away on Lortzingstraße.<ref>Peter Galante and Jack Miller, "The Berlin Wall" (pp 79–80), 1 January 1965, Arthur Baker Ltd., ASIN B0000CMM6U.</ref><ref name=CDM>[http://www.chronik-der-mauer.de/index.php/de/Start/Detail/id/593816/page/1 Biography] at Chronik der Mauer.de {{de icon}}.</ref><ref name=HA>[http://www.abendblatt.de/archive/1961/pdf/19610823.pdf/ASV_HAB_19610823_HA_002.pdf Hamburger Abendblatt article] "In der Tasche der Toten fand man die Adresse der Schwester", 23 August 1961 {{de icon}}.</ref>
+Ida Siekmann was born on 23 August 1902, in [[Górki, Kwidzyn County|Gorken]] near [[Marienwerder]], [[West Prussia]] in the [[German Empire]] (now Górki, [[Kwidzyn County]], [[Poland]]). She had moved to [[Berlin]] where she worked as a nurse, and by August 1961 was already a [[widow]], although it is not known when she was widowed.<ref name=Bild>''Bild Zeitung'' article, "Dem Opfer der Unfreiheit", 29 August 1961 {{in lang|de}}.</ref> Siekmann lived at [[Bernauer Straße]] 48 in the district of [[Mitte]], and had a sister, Martha L., who lived only a few blocks away on Lortzingstraße.<ref>Peter Galante and Jack Miller, "The Berlin Wall" (pp 79–80), 1 January 1965, Arthur Baker Ltd., ASIN B0000CMM6U.</ref><ref name=CDM>[http://www.chronik-der-mauer.de/index.php/de/Start/Detail/id/593816/page/1 Biography] at Chronik der Mauer.de {{in lang|de}}.</ref><ref name=HA>[http://www.abendblatt.de/archive/1961/pdf/19610823.pdf/ASV_HAB_19610823_HA_002.pdf Hamburger Abendblatt article] "In der Tasche der Toten fand man die Adresse der Schwester", 23 August 1961 {{in lang|de}}.</ref>
 After [[World War II]], Berlin was [[Allied-occupied Germany|divided into four Allied sectors]], and while the street and the sidewalk of the Bernauer Straße lay in the French sector of [[West Berlin]], the frontage of the buildings on the southern side lay in the Soviet sector of [[East Berlin]]. Siekmann regularly crossed the border between the French and Soviet sectors just by leaving her house.<ref name=CDM/> Siekmann's sister at Lortzingstraße was located in the French sector of West Berlin.<ref name=HA/>
 ==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.<ref name=Welt>[https://www.welt.de/die-welt/politik/article8978529/Die-Erste-und-der-Letzte.html Die Erste und der Letzte] [[Die Welt]], 13 August 2010 {{de icon}}.</ref> On 18 August 1961, East German leader [[Walter Ulbricht]] ordered the [[Border Troops of the German Democratic Republic|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.<ref name=CDM/>
+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.<ref name=Welt>[https://www.welt.de/die-welt/politik/article8978529/Die-Erste-und-der-Letzte.html Die Erste und der Letzte] [[Die Welt]], 13 August 2010 {{in lang|de}}.</ref> On 18 August 1961, East German leader [[Walter Ulbricht]] ordered the [[Border Troops of the German Democratic Republic|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.<ref name=CDM/>
 [[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-33809-0001, Berlin, Bernauer Straße, Grenze.jpg|thumb|Bernauer Straße in November 1955, including Bernauer Straße 48, with annotations (on the Wikimedia Commons version of this page) showing Ida Siekmann's front door and the fourth-floor window that she jumped from]]
-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.<ref name=DR>[http://www.dradio.de/dkultur/sendungen/kritik/1066287/ Sprung in den Tod] [[Deutschlandradio Kultur]] {{de icon}}.</ref><ref>[http://www.focus.de/panorama/boulevard/brennpunkt-die-berliner-mauer_aid_445689.html Die Berliner Mauer] [[Focus (German magazine)|Focus]], 19 October 2009 {{de icon}}.</ref><ref>[http://www.morgenpost.de/berlin/article824550/Forscher_korrigieren_in_neuer_Studie_Zahl_der_Mauertoten.html Forscher korrigieren in neuer Studie Zahl der Mauertoten] [[Berliner Morgenpost]] 8 August 2008 {{de icon}}.</ref> Siekmann died while on her way to the Lazarus Hospital shortly after the fall, thus becoming the first known casualty at the Berlin Wall.<ref name=Welt/><ref name=DR/>
+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 third-floor (by German standards, fourth-floor by North American 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.<ref name=DR>[http://www.dradio.de/dkultur/sendungen/kritik/1066287/ Sprung in den Tod] [[Deutschlandradio Kultur]] {{in lang|de}}.</ref><ref>[http://www.focus.de/panorama/boulevard/brennpunkt-die-berliner-mauer_aid_445689.html Die Berliner Mauer] [[Focus (German magazine)|Focus]], 19 October 2009 {{in lang|de}}.</ref><ref>[http://www.morgenpost.de/berlin/article824550/Forscher_korrigieren_in_neuer_Studie_Zahl_der_Mauertoten.html Forscher korrigieren in neuer Studie Zahl der Mauertoten] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131231175656/http://www.morgenpost.de/berlin/article824550/Forscher_korrigieren_in_neuer_Studie_Zahl_der_Mauertoten.html |date=31 December 2013 }} [[Berliner Morgenpost]] 8 August 2008 {{in lang|de}}.</ref> Siekmann died while on her way to the Lazarus Hospital shortly after the fall, thus becoming the first known casualty at the Berlin Wall.<ref name=Welt/><ref name=DR/>
 ==Burial==
 Siekmann was buried at the Seestraße cemetery on 29 August; in September a memorial was erected at Bernauer Straße 48. The memorial was often visited by foreign politicians, including [[Robert F. Kennedy]] and [[Makarios III|Archbishop Makarios]], to honour the victims of the Berlin Wall.<ref name=CDM/>
-The houses on the southern side of Bernauer Straße were torn down in 1963 and replaced by a concrete wall.<ref name=mobi1>[http://berliner-mauer.mobi/ereignismarke.html?&L=1&marker=194&number=96&cHash=a514f6954349190e6c64ed03b85b4dd1 Berlin Wall Memorial], Clue #390 </ref><ref name=mobi2>[http://berliner-mauer.mobi/ereignismarke.html?&L=1&marker=194&number=96&cHash=a514f6954349190e6c64ed03b85b4dd1  Berlin Wall Memorial], Clue #397 </ref>
+The houses on the southern side of Bernauer Straße were torn down in 1963 and replaced by a concrete wall.<ref name=mobi1>[http://berliner-mauer.mobi/ereignismarke.html?&L=1&marker=194&number=96&cHash=a514f6954349190e6c64ed03b85b4dd1 Berlin Wall Memorial], Clue #390</ref><ref name=mobi2>[http://berliner-mauer.mobi/ereignismarke.html?&L=1&marker=194&number=96&cHash=a514f6954349190e6c64ed03b85b4dd1 Berlin Wall Memorial], Clue #397</ref>
+== See also ==
+* [[List of deaths at the Berlin Wall]]
+* [[Berlin Crisis of 1961]]
 ==Literature==
@@ Line 45: / Line 49: @@
 ==References==
-{{Reflist|30em}}
+{{Reflist}}
 ==External links==
-{{Commons category}}
+*{{Commons category-inline}}
-*[http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSmpid=48217073&GRid=93764075& Ida Siekmann at "Find A Grave – Millions of Cemetery Records"]
 *[http://idasiekmann.blogspot.com/ Ida Siekmann – First Berlin Wall victim]
 *[http://idasiekmannbericht.blogspot.com (English translation of) Message of the East Berlin People’s Police on the escape attempt of Ida Siekmann]
-*[http://www.notnorthdakota.com/tag/ida-siekmann/ The Wall of Shame; August 22, 1961, November 26, 2013]
+*[https://web.archive.org/web/20180822215500/http://www.notnorthdakota.com/tag/ida-siekmann/ The Wall of Shame; August 22, 1961, November 26, 2013]{{Dead link|date=August 2024}}
 *[https://patriciahysell.wordpress.com/2015/08/22/but-not-the-last/ But Not the Last; August 22, 2015]
-*[http://vidayeltiempo.blogspot.com/2011/08/la-ultima-oportunidad.html La Última Oportunidad (The Last Chance) {{sp icon}}]
+*[http://vidayeltiempo.blogspot.com/2011/08/la-ultima-oportunidad.html La Última Oportunidad (The Last Chance) {{in lang|es}}]
-*[http://germanhistoryblog.com/remembering-ida-siekmann/ Remember Ida Siekmann and 22 August 1961 ]
+*[http://germanhistoryblog.com/remembering-ida-siekmann/ Remember Ida Siekmann and 22 August 1961]
 *[http://idasgrave.blogspot.com Ida Siekmann's grave]
-*[http://kwidzynopedia.pl/index.php?title=Ida_Siekmann Ida Siekmann at Kwidzynopedia {{pl icon}}]
+*[http://kwidzynopedia.pl/index.php?title=Ida_Siekmann Ida Siekmann at Kwidzynopedia {{in lang|pl}}]
 {{Berlin Wall}}
@@ Line 64: / Line 67: @@
 [[Category:1902 births]]
 [[Category:1961 deaths]]
+[[Category:German nurses]]
 [[Category:People from West Prussia]]
 [[Category:Deaths at the Berlin Wall]]
@@ Line 70: / Line 74: @@
 [[Category:1960s in Berlin]]
 [[Category:People from Kwidzyn County]]
+[[Category:People from East Berlin]]
+[[Category:East German defectors]]