History Daily - The Killing of Benno Ohnesorg

Episode Date: June 2, 2025

June 2, 1967. Benno Ohnesorg, a West German student, is killed by a police officer while attending a protest in West Berlin. Support the show! Join Into History for ad-free listening and more.History Daily is a co-production of Airship and Noiser.Go to HistoryDaily.com for more history, daily.

It's dusk on June 2nd, 1967, outside the German Opera House in West Berlin. Behind a police barrier, a young female student stands among a crowd of angry protesters. They're demonstrating against the leader of Iran, Mohammed Reza Shah, who's been invited to attend tonight's performance of Mozart's The Magic Flute, despite his government's notorious record on human rights. The young students spots of black Mercedes pull up in front of the entrance, shoulder to shoulder with other protesters, she joins the rising chant of murderer

as security agents surround the car and usher the Shah and his wife toward the opera house. Roaring in anger, the protesters fling tomatoes and eggs at them, but the couple soon disappear inside, and that seems to be a cue for the police outside to advance. The officer's aggression is sudden and shocking. Swinging their batons, they forced the demonstrators back from the opera house. Frighted the young woman looks around,

but suddenly the friends she came with are nowhere to be seen. She tried to find a way out, but she realizes she's trapped like everyone else. Her only escape is to an underground parking lot beneath a nearby building. All around her is chaos. The student has jostled by fleeing protesters. She stumbles, hitting the side of a car and falls to the ground. People trip and vault over her, and she struggles to get back to her feet. She manages to rise into a crouch and is frantically searching for somewhere else to hide.

when the crack of a gunshot reverberates through the parking lot. Terrify. The student looks around her and then sees a young man lying on the ground. Blood pools around his head and standing over him, a police officer drips his pistol, a trail of smoke still rising from the barrel. Young student looks back to the man lying on the concrete. He doesn't look much older than she is, and if she had to guess, the wound he suffered looks like a fatal one. 26-year-old Benno Onensorg will die before he can make it to a hospital.

The student, husband, and soon-to-be father was attending his first protest when he was gunned down. But in a time of espionage and intrigue, Benno's killer will hide a crucial secret for decades. And when the truth finally comes out, it will change forever the way Germans remember this fatal shooting on June 2, 1967. From Noisor and Airship, I'm Lindsay Graham. And this is History Daily. History is made every day. On this podcast, every day, we tell the true stories of the people and events that shaped our world. Today is June 2, 1967, the killing of Benno Onensorg. It's November 21st, 1967, in a West Berlin courtroom, five months after the death of Benno Ornysorg. 39-year-old Carl Heinz Koras sits up straight, adjusting the sleeves of his dark suit. He was the policeman who shot Benno Onensorg, and this is his trial.

He's not been charged with murder, though, but with negligent homicide, causing death by disregarding the safety of others. By now, the trial is nearly over. All that remains is for the judge to deliver his verdict. Over the past few weeks, many people have testified about the day of the shooting. In his own testimony, Carl Hines claimed to have been knocked down and beaten by 10 or 11 people at the protest. He also said that two young men had threatened him with knives, which prompted him to fire a warning shot. He claimed this bullet must have been the one that hit Benno. There were no eyewitnesses who could corroborate Carl Heinz's account,

but there was also no one to contradict his story either. This is typical of the problems the prosecution has faced in the trial. Their case has been plagued by missing evidence. The piece of Benno's skull that contained the gunshot wound mysteriously vanished. The pistol magazine was never found, and even Carl Heinz's uniform was conveniently dry-clean before his arrest. All of this has led to rampant speculation in the press, and when the judge arrives, he hushes a cluster of journalists who are whispering to each other in the gallery.

All of these reporters are eager to hear the verdict of one of the biggest cases West Germany has seen in years, so they quickly fall quiet. Then the judge begins speaking. Citing a lack of evidence, he issues a verdict of not guilty. A very relieved Carl Heinz smiles at his lawyer because he's a free man. Carl Heinz Khoras might have escaped a prison term, but he doesn't get off entirely Scott-free. Following his acquittal, he is demoted from police intelligence to a local investigations department, but that's seen by many as just a slap on the wrist, and it only deepens the anger

felt by many people throughout West Germany. Several suspect a state cover-up that Benno was murdered by the police, and the authorities then deliberately misplaced the evidence. And at rallies across the country, young protesters claimed the killing was warning to anyone who attempts to question the German government. They say their country now welcomes brutal dictators like the Shah with open arms, but guns down those brave enough to object. These students have not forgotten their nation's history. After World War II, the Allied powers agreed to divide and occupy a defeated Nazi Germany to prevent the country from ever

becoming powerful enough to threaten Europe again. That has led to the creation of East and West Germany. But many students see the West Berlin, police force as a dangerous relic of the country's past. More than 50% of its officers fought for the Nazis during the war, and they are still notorious for their anti-communist and anti-Semitic attitudes. So more and more students in West Germany flock to protest groups like the Socialist German Students Union or SDS. These organizations are unified by disillusionment with the status quo and a desire for justice for Beno-Osserk. With the public's strong support for their cause, The Onisorg family launches a legal appeal over Benno's death.

In 1970, Carl Heinz Koras is once again forced to stand trial over the incident. The Onisorg's lawyer argues that the original trial was severely flawed and did not consider all the available evidence. Still, the second trial ends the same way as the first. Carl Heinz is acquitted once again. Following this verdict, some formally peaceful protesters start to see violence as a legitimate form of resistance. In this new, more extreme form of rebellion, militant left-wing groups like the Red Army faction

begin to emerge. Their methods of urban guerrilla warfare include bombing department stores and robbing banks to finance their activities. One group of young anarchists even call themselves the Second of June movement, naming themselves after the date Beno Onesorg was killed. But though Beno's death is central to their identity, their mission goes far beyond fighting for justice for him. The group is also committed to taking broader revenge against their government at large,

and in 1975, their agenda will culminate in the most daring kidnapping in West German history. It's just before 9 a.m. on February 27, 1975 in West Berlin, more than seven years after the shooting of Beno Onisorg. Peter Lawrence, a tall and slender politician with thick-rimmed glasses, gazes out of his black Mercedes watching the bare trees that line the street flick by the window. West Berlin's elections are just three days away, and Peter is poised to become the city's first conservative mayor in 20 years. But Peter's attention is dragged away from the car window when a four-ton truck pulls into the intersection right in front of them. Peter's driver slams on the brake, jolting Peter forward in his seat.

The Mercedes skids to a stop, but the car behind them does not. Furious, the driver gets out to inspect the damage to the rear of his car, and Peter watches through the windscreen, wondering what caused this truck to block the intersection. Just then, a man carrying a long broom emerges from the trees. He runs toward the Mercedes, smashes the broom over the driver's head, and knocks him unconscious. Peter realizes this is not an accident. It's an ambush.

But before he can flee, four masked men fling open the doors of Peter's car. The largest of them pins Peter to the seat. Peter thrashes with all his might, but the men hold him down until one of them can rip back Peter's sleeve and inject something into his arm. Then, as the car's engine restarts, Peter begins to feel drowsy.

By the time the car is in motion and hurtling down the road once more, he is unconscious. After his abduction, Peter has moved to another car, then a truck, before finally waking up in a stuffy basement with a high ceiling and soundproofed walls.

Knowing that a prominent politician like Peter will soon be missed, the kidnappers release a Polaroid photo of him, holding up a handwritten sign. It says that he is not, now a prisoner of the 2nd of June movement. This group of anarchists have pulled violent stunts before, so the government is worried for Peter's safety.

But Peter's captors are determined to treat their hostage humanely. They provide him with a bathroom, with a privacy curtain, and he's given newspapers every day, though the stories about his own kidnapping are censored. And at first, the kidnappers try to question him about politics and the corruption they see in his party, but eventually they give up and just play chess with him instead. But the Second of June movement has serious demands in exchange for Peter's release,

and they mail these directly to the press. They want the release of six imprisoned anarchists whose crimes range from membership in an illegal organization to attempted murder. The movement also asks that the prisoners be put on a plane bound for Yemen, an ally of the Soviet Union. To guarantee the safety of the prisoners, the second of June movement wants the former mayor of Berlin, Heinrich Albatz, to join them on the plane as a voluntary hostage, The deadline they give is 9 a.m. the following Monday, and if they don't get what they want by then, they say they're going to kill Peter.

On Sunday morning, one day before the deadline, while the authorities discuss arrangements for the prisoner's release, the West Berlin elections take place. Peter Lawrence's Christian Democratic Union Party wins the majority of votes, and Peter himself learns of the results when the kidnappers climb down a ladder into the basement and congratulate him on becoming the next mayor, though they remind him that he won't be taking office unless their demands are met. Then, on Monday morning, a plane takes off from Frankfurt Airport. On board are the newly released anarchist prisoners and their voluntary hostage Heinrich Alberts. When the plane lands in Yemen, the prisoners disbarred, and Heinrich Albers is flown back to Germany

with a letter to deliver. Upon his arrival, he reads the message live on TV. The letter concludes with the phrase, a day like this, as lovely as today. This is the code to the kidnappers to release Peter Lauren. So down in the soundproof basement, Peter's captors celebrate with a bottle of wine before releasing him. They revel in their victory, hoping that the kidnapping will make the authorities think twice about the way they treat protesters in the future and believe that their success is a fitting tribute to Beno Onesort. But the truth about his death at the protest in West Berlin is still yet to be revealed, and decades later, a shocking revelation will alter perceptions of that day forever.

It's May 23rd, 2009, outside a Berlin grocery store, 40 years after the killing of Benno Onisorke. Now 81, Carl Heinz Koras, walked slowly to the store entrance. He's on his way to pick up more beer. It's a warm day, and the retired policeman stops to adjust his collar, glancing at the newspaper stand in front of the store. He sees his own name and face on every front page. His involvement in the killing of Benno Onisorke is being dug up again. But Carl Hines doesn't need to read any of it. He already knows everything. After the shooting of Beno Onisorg in 1967, Carl Hines was generally thought of as a policeman gone rogue,

a fascist dog with a gun and a jumpy trigger finger. But historians have now uncovered documents revealing that Carl Hines was actually an undercover spy for the communists. Beginning in the mid-1950s, Carl Hines passed information to the East German secret police, also known as the Stasi. As he rose up through the ranks of West Berlin's police force, the Stasi paid Carl Hines more and more. But after Benno Onisorg's death, the Stasi cut all contact.

They hid his files and destroyed any other evidence that could connect them to Carl Hines, so the truth remained hidden for decades until now. When they are made public, the revelations are stunning. Many think it's possible that the Stasi asked Carl Hines to exacerbate tensions in West Berlin, and that's why he shot Benno. But there is no solid evidence to support this, and Carl Heinz has no intention of providing it. He's tired of it all,

and he never reveals what really lay behind the shooting before he dies in 2014. His silence leaves behind a murky and confusing legacy. Beno Onesorg's death was a turning point in Germany's modern history when its young people pushed for a clearer break with the country's fascist past and a renewed embrace of democracy and human rights.

The revelation that, Benno's killer was inspired by socialism and not fascism, upset all preconceptions about the case and ensures that for years to come, questions will continue to be asked about what really happened and why when a young student was gunned down in a Berlin protest on June 2, 1967. Next on History Daily, June 3, 1844, after a rare species of bird becomes a sought-after collector's item, the last pair of great ox in the world is killed by. Icelandic fishermen. From Noisor and Airship, this is History Daily. Hosted, edited, and executive produced by me, Lindsay Graham. Audio editing by Mohamed Shazim. Supervising sound

designer is Matthew Filler. Music by Throne. This episode is written and researched by Angus Gavin McCart, edited by Joel Cowell. Managing producer Emily Byrhe. Executive producers are William Simpson for Airship and Pascal Hughes for Noiser.