[2] In 1963, he earned his Dr. phil from the University of Jena with a thesis titled "On the Dialectics of Social Necessity and Moral Freedom in Our Era: Investigations into Fundamental Questions of Marxist-Leninist Ethics.

[1] Wolfgang Herger became a member of the Free German Youth (FDJ) in 1949 and joined the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED) in 1957.

[1] Alongside Krenz, he played a role in ensuring the peaceful transition of events in the autumn of 1989.

[4] Alongside Herger, the former Deputy Minister of Defence Horst Brünner and two other prominent DDR military figures (Manfred Grätz and Heinz Tappert) were also convicted.

The court held these four defendants partially responsible for the GDR's fundamental orders regarding "border security," arguing that they had tacitly accepted the deaths of refugees.