| Benito Corghi | |
| Birth Date: | 26 May 1938 |
| Death Date: | 5 August 1976 |
| Nationality: | Italian |
| Occupation: | Long-distance Truckdriver |
Benito Corghi (26 May 1938 - 5 August 1976) was an Italian long-distance truckdriver, who was a victim of Border Troops of the German Democratic Republic on a border crossing point.
Benito Corghi was an Italian long-distance truckdriver. In the morning of 5 August 1976 he crossed the border crossing at Hirschberg/Rudolphstein at the Bundesautobahn 9 into West Germany. Then he was going back as a pedestrian to pick up papers he forgot on the East German side.[1] This was not allowed. When a guard shouted at him and ordered him to raise his hands, he did not understand, turned around and attempted to walk back, whereupon he was shot.[2]
On the next day, the authorities of the GDR formally apologized for the "tragic accident". It was the only time in GDR history that such a formal apology was issued for a deadly occurrence along the inner-German border.[3]
The shooter was acquitted in 1994 by the District Court (Landgericht) of Gera.[4]