Two transport workers plan to stop a West Berlin U-Bahn train under Alexanderplatz
In summer 1967 two 20-year-old East Berlin transport workers planned to climb from a workshop at Alexanderplatz station into the tunnel of the West Berlin line (today's U8) and stop a westbound train. A colleague informed the Stasi.
In summer 1967 Detlef L. and Gerhard M., both 20 and both employed by the East Berlin transport authority BVB, planned to escape by the underground. They intended to open a door of the station's glazier's workshop with a duplicate key, climb down into a shaft below the platform and so reach the tunnel of the West Berlin line, where they wanted to stop a train heading for West Berlin.
The escape never took place. A contact person with the code name 'Arno', who also worked for the BVB, told the Ministry for State Security about the plan.
On 14 November the district court of Prenzlauer Berg sentenced Detlef L. to 22 months and Gerhard M. to 20 months in prison.
Sources
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Facts checked against the sources: September 2026
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Berlin Experiences, “Two transport workers plan to stop a West Berlin U-Bahn train under Alexanderplatz”, Berlin Wall Escapes, 2026, https://berlinwallescapes.com/escapes/alexanderplatz-u-bahn-tunnel-plan-1967/ (accessed [date]).
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