Easy hikes and walks around Gresse

Not passable with a touring bike, at most with a mountain bike.

The estate, including the school building for the surrounding villages, stood here. In 1963, the entire area was demolished during the "Verziefer" (pesticide) campaign, and all the buildings were destroyed because it was considered too close to the border by the GDR regime.

At midnight between April 30th and May 1st, 1976, Michael Gartenschläger is killed by East German border guards. He is shot by a special Stasi commando as he tries to approach the border to the west. Gartenschläger has carefully planned his action at the border of Schwarzenbek in Lauenburg. The GDR Foreign Minister, Oskar Fischer, denies that there are automatic shooting devices at the border. Gartenschläger wants to prove that this is a lie. In March and April he crawls to the border and dismantles two of the SM70 automatic shooting devices. He shows these to the magazine Der Spiegel and in this way the GDR leadership's fraud is exposed. When Gartenschläger knows that new SM70s have been installed, he sneaks back to the border on the evening of April 30th. Together with two helpers, he wants to get one of the new automatic shooting devices that is to be exhibited in West Germany. But he does not know that the East German border police have been tipped off. This is why a special commando from the Ministry for State Security is able to take up positions. They are prepared to shoot Gartenschläger, who is now a thorn in the side of the GDR government. In the following years, Michael Gartenschläger becomes a symbol of the inhumanity of the GDR. A cross is erected shortly afterwards in the village of Bröthen: the Gartenschläger Cross. Today there is a memorial here. www.vimu.info/fb.jsp?id=for_1_9_17_fb_gartenschlaeger_dk_doc&lang=de&u=general&flash=true

Kolonnenweg - also known as the death strip

Definitely worth a detour to recall the madness. It is a good idea to visit the border museum nearby!!

At midnight between April 30 and May 1, 1976, Michael Gartenschläger was killed by East German border guards. He is shot by a Stasi special command when he tries to approach the border to the west. Gartenschläger has carefully planned its action on the Schwarzenbek border in Lauenburg. The GDR Foreign Minister, Oskar Fischer, denies that there are self-shot systems on the border. Gartenschläger wants to prove that this is a lie. In March and April he crawled to the border and dismantled two of the SM70 self-firing systems. He shows this to the magazine Der Spiegel and in this way the fraud of the GDR leadership was exposed. When gardeners know that a new SM70 has been installed, he sneaks back to the border on the evening of April 30th. Together with two helpers, he wants to fetch one of the new self-shot systems that are to be exhibited in West Germany. But he does not know that the East German border police got a tip. A special command of the Ministry of State Security can therefore take up posts. They are ready to shoot garden bats, which is now a thorn in the side of the GDR government. In the following years Michael Gartenschläger became a symbol of the inhumanity of the GDR. Shortly afterwards, a cross was erected in the village of Bröthen: the garden bat cross. Today there is a monument. www.vimu.info/fb.jsp?id=for_1_9_17_fb_gartenschlaeger_dk_doc&lang=de&u=general&flash=true

A very impressive memorial and memorial, where you should linger for a moment, think about it and make an active contribution in the future so that such terrible events are finally a thing of the past. Michael Gartenschläger approached the GDR border fence in order to dismantle one of the dangerous SM-70 splinter mines from the metal fence of the barrier systems. After he had twice succeeded in dismantling the murder devices denied by the GDR and presenting them as evidence to the western public, the third attempt ended fatally - Michael Gartenschläger was shot by snipers from the State Security Service, born on January 13, 1944 in Berlin Shot on April 30, 1976 Incident location: near border pillar 231, near Bröthen (Schleswig-Holstein) More detailed information: www.fu-berlin.de/sites/fsed/Das-DDR-Grenzregime/Biografien-von-Todesopfern/Gartenschlaeger_Michael/index.html

At midnight between April 30 and May 1, 1976 Michael Gartenschläger is killed by East German border officials. He is shot dead by a special branch of the Stasi as he tries to approach the border to the west. Gartenschläger has thoroughly planned his action on the border of Schwarzenbek in Lauenburg. The Foreign Minister of the GDR, Oskar Fischer, denies that there are automatic firing systems at the border. Gartenschläger wants to prove that this is a lie. In March and April he crawls to the border and dismantles two of the SM70 self-firing systems. He shows this to the magazine Der Spiegel and in this way the fraud of the GDR leadership was revealed. As a garden beater knows that they have attached new SM70, he sneaks back on the evening of April 30 to the border. Together with two helpers he wants to get one of the new auto-firing systems, which is to be exhibited in West Germany. But he does not know that the East German border police got a tip. Therefore, a special detachment of the Ministry of State Security may take up posts. They are ready to shoot garden clubs, which is meanwhile a thorn in the eye of the GDR government. In the following years, Michael Gartenschläger became a symbol of the inhumanity of the GDR. In the village of Bröthen, a cross is erected shortly thereafter: the garden racket cross. Today there is a monument here. http://vimu.info/fb.jsp?id=for_1_9_17_fb_gartenschlaeger_dk_doc&lang=de&u=general&flash=true