Name Dietrich Wagner | Role Engineer | |
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Dietrich wagner beim jahresruckblick 2010
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.
Contents
- Dietrich wagner beim jahresruckblick 2010
- Dietrich Wagner Intermezzo for nana performed by Carl Straussner
- Aftermath
- References
Wagner suffered from the damage to his eyelids, a fracturing of a portion of the retinal bone, and damage to the retinas. The eye injuries thus inflicted on the man resulted in near-complete loss of eyesight.
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.
Dietrich Wagner - Intermezzo (for nana), performed by Carl Straussner
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. During later demonstrations, some protesters put red colour on their faces to symbolize Dietrich Wagner. 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". According to the author Jakob Augstein, the picture had an relevant impact, causing Minister of Baden-Württemberg Stefan Mappus to lose his position.
In 2014 he visited the United Kingdom to ask Theresa May, the Home Secretary, to not authorise usage of water cannons. In an editorial to The Telegraph Wagner opposed the use of water cannons.