27 September 1961 · Window jumps
Anni M.'s rope tied round the sofa
Returning from holiday to find the border houses being cleared, Anni M. roped down the same evening with her valuables; guards found only a rope wound round the sofa.
When Anni M. came back from holiday on 27 September 1961, the resettlement of the residents of the border houses had already begun. She decided to escape that same day.
Late in the evening a neighbour heard suspicious noises and alerted the guards. When they broke open the locked door of the flat, they found a rope wrapped round the sofa and hanging out of the window.
At about 9 p.m. Anni M. had let herself down to the West Berlin pavement, taking her valuables with her.
Sources
- Gedenkstätte Berliner Mauer – Bereich B: Die Zerstörung der Stadt (Orientierungsplan und Ereignismarken), marker B 382Stiftung Berliner Mauer
- B 382 – Digital Guide, Berlin Wall MemorialStiftung Berliner Mauer
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24 September 1961
Marianne S. flees as the eviction squads arrive
On the morning the forced evictions began, Marianne S. roped down from a window on a washing line and fell five metres; her disabled partner was left behind.
19 August 1961
Rudolf Urban's rope descent from Bernauer Straße 1
Rudolf Urban and his wife let themselves down on a rope from their first-floor flat; he was badly injured and died in hospital four weeks later.
24 August 1961
Parents and 14-year-old daughter rope down from Bernauer Straße 10
Probably on 24 August 1961 a married couple and their 14-year-old daughter let themselves down on a rope from a first-floor window.
24 August 1961
Max W.'s rope breaks at Bernauer Straße 24
Max W. let himself down from his first-floor flat; the rope snapped and he fell to the pavement, where West Berlin police picked him up.