‘73 memo told guards to shoot
A recently unearthed document from 1973 provides new evidence of written orders to soldiers in the former East Germany to shoot citizens attempting to escape to the West.
Authorities said the paper would make it harder for ex-communist leaders to dispute whether they should be held accountable for the deaths.
“Don’t shy away from using your weapon, even if the breach of the border involves women and children, which is a tactic often used by the traitors,” the order said.
The discovery comes as Germany prepares to mark today’s 46th anniversary of the start of construction of the Berlin Wall.
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