Henry Leuschner

Henry Leuschner was born in Leipzig in 1962. From 1978 to 1980, he trained as a roofer in Jena. He then refused to do military service and submitted several applications to leave the country.

On 1st April 1981, Leuschner was critically wounded by an automatic weapon during an escape attempt near Plauen. He was imprisoned at the Ministry of State Security prison hospital in Berlin-Hohenschönhausen. In July 1981, the Gera District Court sentenced him to one year and nine months in prison. He was also held at the prisons in Gera, Cottbus and Untermaßfeld. In December 1982, he was released from prison into the GDR, where he co-founded the "White Circle" protest movement in Jena.

In September 1983, Henry Leuschner was able to leave for West Germany. He lived in the USA, Indonesia, Singapore, Hong Kong, India and West Berlin.

Henry Leuschner has been guiding groups of visitors through the Memorial and has worked as a contemporary witness at schools and educational institutions for the Co-ordinating Office of Contemporary Witnesses since 2013.