The Shot That Changed A Republic

By Randall Hoven

In 1967, a West Berlin police officer shot and killed an unarmed demonstrator. It was a turning point in German politics, ushering in left-leaning governments for the next generation or two. Now it turns out that the police officer was a Stasi spy for East Germany. Oops.

It must have hurt, but the New York Times reports:

"The killing provided the clear-cut rationale for the movement's opposition to what its members saw as a violent, unjust state, when in fact the supposed fascist villain of leftist lore was himself a committed socialist."

"I would never, never, ever have thought that this could be true," said Stefan Aust, the former editor in chief of Der Spiegel.

And the killer, Karl-Heinz Kurras, is still alive. In an interview, Mr. Kurras confirmed that he was in the East German Communist Party. "Should I be ashamed of that or something?" he asked.

No more than Bill Ayers, I guess.

It's nice to know that, just every so often, the truth will out. And the world makes sense.

Let's repeat that line from the New York Times: