Dietrich Wagner

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Dietrich Wagner is a retired engineer who suffered damage to his eyes during the 2010 Stuttgart 21 project protests due to the use of water cannons. He was 66 at the time.[1]

Wagner suffered from the damage to his eyelids, a fracturing of a portion of the retinal bone, and damage to the retinas.[2] The eye injuries thus inflicted on the man resulted in near-complete loss of eyesight.[3][4]

He had been knocked unconscious by the blast. He noticed blood running down his face when he woke up. Wagner had six operations on his eyes but remained almost completely blind.[5]

Aftermath[]

Before his participation in the Stuttgart 21 protests, Dietrich Wagner had no political involvement with an exception during his university education. Pictures showing Wagner injured, with two people assisting him, were published in many German newspapers.[6] During later demonstrations, some protesters put red colour on their faces to symbolize Dietrich Wagner.[7]

Tristana Moore of Time wrote that the photograph of his injury caused "a regional dispute over an unpopular building project instantly transformed into a national issue — and the political repercussions are now reverberating all the way to Berlin."[1] Wagner became a symbol of the protest against the Stuttgart 21 project. The German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung wrote that he was the "face of the protest".[8] According to the author Jakob Augstein, the picture had a relevant impact, causing Minister of Baden-Württemberg Stefan Mappus to lose his position.[9]

In 2014 he visited the United Kingdom to ask Theresa May, the Home Secretary, to not authorise usage of water cannons.[5] In an editorial to The Telegraph Wagner opposed the use of water cannons.[10]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b Moore, Tristana (8 October 2010). "German Railway Controversy Sends Angela Merkel Off Track". TIME. Archived from the original on October 12, 2010. Retrieved 6 February 2018.
  2. ^ "Injured Stuttgart 21 protestor could stay blind". The Local. 6 October 2010. Retrieved 22 March 2014.
  3. ^ "Wasserwerfer-Opfer bleibt auf einem Auge blind" [Water cannon victim blinded in one eye] (in German). 13 October 2010. Archived from the original on 22 March 2011. Retrieved 23 March 2011.
  4. ^ "Blinded Stuttgart 21 protestor wants apology". 28 December 2010. Archived from the original on 22 March 2011. Retrieved 23 March 2011.
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b Morrison, Sarah (17 February 2014). "The dangers of water cannon: Blinded German man tells Britain 'don't make the same mistakes as other countries'". The Independent. Retrieved 22 March 2014.
  6. ^ "Demonstranten drohen zu erblinden". Stuttgarter Zeitung. 6 October 2010. Archived from the original on 25 February 2011.
  7. ^ "Stuttgart 21: Blutiger Protest". RP online. 22 October 2010. Archived from the original on 4 September 2011. Retrieved 1 April 2014.
  8. ^ "Politik: Gesicht des Widerstands". Süddeutsche Zeitung. 30 September 2011. Retrieved 4 November 2011.
  9. ^ Jakob Augstein (3 June 2013). "Im Zweifel zuschlagen". Spiegel Online.
  10. ^ Wagner, Dietrich (21 February 2014). "People of Britain, beware of the water cannon': a warning from Dietrich Wagner, near-blinded in Stuttgart". The Telegraph. Retrieved 22 March 2014.


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