Werner Weinhold

Werner Weinhold (8 August 1949 – 2 May 2024) was a NVA soldier who shot and killed two East German border guards on 19 December 1975 during a successful attempt to cross the Inner German border from the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) to the Federal Republic of Germany (then called West Germany). The escape took place near the town of Hildburghausen, Thuringia.

Weinhold was tried in the West German courts and was at first acquitted. At a second trial in 1978, he was found guilty of two counts of manslaughter and armed motor vehicle theft and sentenced to 5.5 years in prison. He was released from prison in July 1982. The incident received much press coverage at the time in both German states. The East German government refused to cooperate with the investigation and repeatedly demanded Weinhold's extradition.

On 8 January 2005, Weinhold shot and seriously injured a 43-year-old acquaintance at a bar. He was sentenced to 2.5 years in prison for grevious bodily harm.

Weinhold died on 2 May 2024, at the age of 74.

Popular culture
The computer game Wargame: European Escalation creates an alternate history scenario where Werner Weinhold's 1975 defection causes military skirmishes to erupt between East and West Germany that escalate into World War III between NATO and the Warsaw Pact.