29 December 1961 · Guards who fled
The boot left in the barbed wire
A border guard climbed the Sophien cemetery wall into West Berlin; when he got stuck in the barbed wire, two West Berlin policemen pulled him over, leaving one of his boots behind.
On the evening of 29 December 1961 border guard Alfred Sch. was posted with two other guards to watch the Sophien parish cemetery near Ackerstraße, part of which lay in the border area.
Using a pretext, he separated from his comrades and climbed over the cemetery wall towards West Berlin. He became entangled in the barbed wire on top of the wall.
Two West Berlin police officers pulled him across; one of his boots stayed caught in the wire. A photograph of the boot hanging in the barbed wire appeared in the press the following day.
Sources
Spotted an error, or know more about this story? Email us a correction or addition
Related escapes
15 August 1961
Conrad Schumann's leap to freedom
Two days after the border was sealed, 19-year-old border policeman Conrad Schumann jumped over the barbed-wire barrier at Bernauer Straße into West Berlin, dropping his submachine gun as he went.
16 August 1961
Two policemen vanish from the Kobold works
The day after Conrad Schumann's jump, two young Volkspolizei officers said to be his friends disappeared from their post on the Kobold works site at Bernauer Straße and reached West Berlin.
22 October 1961
Dog handler Werner K. slips away over the cemetery wall
While training his successor as a dog handler in the Sophien cemetery, Private Werner K. made an excuse to leave his comrade and disappeared over the wall.
23 October 1961
Border policeman Lutz M. jumps from Bernauer Straße 2
A border policeman who found the prospect of shooting at refugees unbearable slipped away from his post, broke into an evacuated flat at Bernauer Straße 2 and jumped to the western pavement.
