Lightning-Rod W. German Cop Unmasked as Stasi Spy

Revelation likened to discovering Kent State shooters were KGB agents

By Rob Quinn, Newser Staff

Posted May 27, 2009 8:17 AM CDT

(Newser) – The West German cop whose shooting of an unarmed protester in 1967 changed the country forever has been unmasked as an East German spy by historians going through Stasi files, the New York Times reports. The shooting sparked a wide, sometimes violent left-wing protest movement many believe spawned Germany's current liberal disposition. The revelation that the "fascist cop" was a socialist spy has rocked the country.

Many now ask whether the policeman was ordered to shoot a protester by Stasi agents hoping to spark dissent. "The biggest milestone on the road toward violence was not what people thought it was,” said a former editor of Der Spiegel. "The pure fact that he was an agent from the East changes a lot, whether he acted on orders or not." The policeman, now 81, acknowledges belonging to the East German Communist Party but maintains the shooting was accidental.

[Images (3)]

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The head of an office of Germany's Stasi Archives presents the file of one of the East German spy agency's informers. (AP Photo/Eckehard Schulz)

A sign outside the Brandenburg Gate and the Berlin Wall reading 'Attention! You are now leaving West Berlin.' (Getty Images)

East German guards watch over the Berlin Wall in May 1965. (Getty Images)

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It makes a hell of a difference whether John F. Kennedy was killed by just a loose cannon running around or a Secret Service agent working for the East. I would never, never, ever have thought that this could be true.” - Stefan Aust, former Der Speigel editor

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Lightning-Rod W. German Cop Unmasked as Stasi Spy