Benno Ohnesorg

Benno Ohnesorg (German pronunciation: [ˈbɛno ˈʔoːnəzɔɐ̯k], October 15, 1940 – June 2, 1967) was a German university student killed by a policeman during a demonstration in West Berlin.

Death

On June 2, 1967, Ohnesorg participated in a protest held near the Deutsche Oper, aimed against the state visit of the Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, who was attending a performance of Mozart's The Magic Flute at the Deutsche Oper that night. It was the first political demonstration in which Ohnesorg had ever taken part.

The protest turned violent after provocations by the Shah's agents and the police's overreactions. Demonstrators were then dispersed into the side streets. In the courtyard of Krumme Strasse 66, Ohnesorg was then shot by plain-clothes police officer Karl-Heinz Kurras. Ohnesorg died before he could be treated at a hospital. At that time, Kurras was cleared of all charges in two separate trials.

Ohnesorg was a student of Romance and German studies. He was married and his wife was pregnant with their first child.

Benno

Saint Benno (c. 1010 – 16 June 1106) was Bishop of Meissen from 1066 until his death. Venerated since the 13th century, he was canonized in 1523.

Life

Little is known of Benno's early life. Born in Hildesheim, it is reported that he was the scion of a Saxon noble family, such as the Woldenburgs; and may nave been educated at the monastery of St. Michael in Hildesheim. However it is certain that Benno was a canon of the Goslar chapter. He became a monk in 1028 and was ordained in 1040. In 1066 he was nominated by King Henry IV to the episcopal see of Meissen.

Benno appears as a supporter of the Saxon Rebellion in 1073, though the chronicler Lambert of Hersfeld and other contemporary authorities attribute little weight to his share in it. Henry IV imprisoned Benno in 1075, however, but released him soon after on his taking an oath of fidelity, which he did not keep. In the fierce Investiture Controversy, he appeared again in the ranks of the king's enemies and allegedly took part in the election of antiking Rudolf of Rheinfelden in 1077. After Rudolf's death he turned to the new antiking Hermann of Salm and was accordingly excommunicated and deprived of his bishopric by the 1085 Synod of Mainz. Benno betook himself to Archbishop Guibert of Ravenna, supported by Henry as Antipope Clement III, and by a penitent acknowledgment of his offences obtained from him both absolution and a letter of commendation to Henry, on the basis of which he was restored to his see.