1. Werner Teske was an East German of the Ministry for State Security.
15 Facts About Werner Teske
1. 2.
Werner Teske was sentenced to death and subsequently executed in June 1981.
3.
Werner Teske's sentence was posthumously overturned after German reunification when it was deemed unlawful by standards of East German law, and two jurists from his trial were prosecuted.
4.
Werner Teske was born on 24 April 1942 in Berlin, and went to school from 1948 to 1960 in Berlin-Lichtenberg, graduating with the.
5.
Werner Teske studied economics at Humboldt University of Berlin from 1960 to 1964 and graduated with a degree in financial economics.
6.
Werner Teske was part of the East German delegation that accompanied the East Germany national football team to the 1974 FIFA World Cup, which was held in West Germany.
7.
Werner Teske was promoted to in 1975 and sent abroad again to the 1976 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck.
8.
Werner Teske put aside money for this purpose, around 20,000 Deutsche mark and a similar amount of East German marks.
9.
In September 1980, Werner Teske was arrested when irregularities in his work came to attention of the Stasi after he had failed to turn up to an appointment when he had been drunk at home.
10.
Werner Teske was tried at the 1st Military Criminal Division of the Supreme Court of East Germany.
11.
Werner Teske was accused of "planned treason", and was found guilty of charges of espionage, desertion, and an illegal border crossing.
12.
Werner Teske was shot in the back of the head using a semi-automatic pistol, after which his body was cremated and buried at the Sudfriedhof.
13.
Knowledge of Werner Teske's trial, execution, and funeral were all kept secret by East German authorities, and this information was withheld even from Werner Teske's closest relatives, including his wife who did not know she was a widow until after German reunification in 1990.
14.
Subsequently, the judges and prosecutors who had taken part in Werner Teske's trial were prosecuted themselves, and in 1998, judge Karl-Heinz Knoche and prosecutor Heinz Kadgien were sentenced to four years imprisonment for perverting the course of justice.
15.
Werner Teske was the last person to be executed in East Germany before the death penalty was abolished in 1987, effectively becoming the last person to be executed in Germany.