Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Benito Corghi

The following discussion is an archived debate of the proposed deletion of the article below. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was keep. The consensus is that because the article has the potential to be improved based on the availability of sources, it should be kept and allowed to improve. With regards to BIO1E, the consensus appears to be that the event is notable, and that converting the biography into an article about the event is more favorable to deletion of the article outright. (non-admin closure) Mz7 (talk) 02:25, 19 August 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Benito Corghi (edit | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views) – (View log · Stats)
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Unsourced bio. Fails WP:BIO1E. - MrX 17:53, 12 August 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Note: This debate has been included in the list of People-related deletion discussions. — JJMC89(T·E·C) 02:59, 13 August 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Note: This debate has been included in the list of Italy-related deletion discussions. — JJMC89(T·E·C) 02:59, 13 August 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Note: This debate has been included in the list of Germany-related deletion discussions. — JJMC89(T·E·C) 03:00, 13 August 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Delete - I initially would have said speedy delete as A7 (and nominated it as such), but the creator of the article left an explanation on my talk page. I removed the template initially because he/she pointed out to me two articles - Peter Fechter and Marienetta Jirkowsky - that were also about those killed while trying to cross the same border as the article subject, and thinking that the fact that they were killed constituted a WP:CCS. However, I now see two reasons why it should be deleted - the other two articles not only describe the person but also what (notable) events happened afterwards, and they are sourced and well-written. This article has neither. Also, now that I'm reconsidering, I don't really think that the fact that they got killed while crossing that particular border may be a WP:CCS, but I'm not sure. Gparyani (talk) 05:02, 13 August 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Comment - The corresponding German Wikipedia article, whose content is otherwise similar enough to this one that I suspect that this was translated from there, contains two good references: this from Die Zeit on the original killing and this from Berliner Zeitung on the acquittal twenty years later of the border guard who shot the subject - the nominator should probably have checked for this in their WP:BEFORE, as it makes the "unsourced bio" reason for deletion very easy to remedy. WP:BIO1E certainly applies but in such cases, if the event is notable enough for a standalone article and does not already have one, converting the article into one about the event is usually worth considering. In this case, the situation is, one might say, rather borderline - the incident had rather less lasting emotional impact than the two referred to above by User:Gparyani (which both occurred on the Berlin Wall rather than, as in this case, on the main border between East and West Germany), but the standard GBooks search still produces quite a number of (admittedly rather brief) references. The event seems to have been distinctly embarrassing for the East Germans - this was one of rather few cases where the person killed was not either attempting to evade border security or a guard shot by friendly fire, and Corghi was a member of the Italian Communist Party - and already gets three sentences at Escape attempts and victims of the inner German border#Deaths on the border. I would prefer to see the article improved and kept, but if not, I think a redirect would be preferable to an outright deletion. PWilkinson (talk) 12:54, 15 August 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Comment, this 2014 article from Il Messaggero claims Borghi's death was the only instance in which GDR formally apologized for a killing occurred along its border (quote: "Per la prima e unica volta nella sua storia, la Ddr si scusa formalmente per una uccisione avvenuta lungo il suo confine.") If confirmed, I'm leaning to keep. Cavarrone 17:48, 15 August 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Keep and improve - After hearing some arguments from the other side, it appears that my initial reasoning for saying delete is no longer the case. As the article was at the time it was nominated, it would merit deletion, but with a little improvement (as mentioned in the above comments), I would say that it would be better to keep it and improve it. Gparyani (talk) 20:44, 16 August 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Keep - the event had some later impact, and some good coverage, it caused certainly some trouble back in 1976, I added the Italian source, which actually retells the story in much detail. The East Germans made a silly mistake, ordering the truck driver to go on, moments before the veterinary inspector came back with the certificate, they should have known that the driver can't pass on the other side without it, and should have expected him to come back, but... Kraxler (talk) 18:28, 18 August 2015 (UTC)[reply]
The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.