8 October 1962 · Swimming · The Spree between Kreuzberg and Friedrichshain
Anton Walzer – shot swimming from a barge
Sixty-year-old Anton Walzer climbed onto a moored barge and jumped into the Spree; a border guard shot him in the back of the head.
Anton Walzer was born on 27 April 1902 in Weiler near Ravensburg in Upper Swabia.
At about 10.15 p.m. on 8 October 1962 he climbed onto a barge moored near the Oberbaumbrücke and jumped into the Spree to swim to West Berlin. Two border guards at a nearby post saw him and opened fire.
He was hit in the back of the head; the shot was immediately fatal and he sank. Water police and firefighters recovered his body the next morning around 8.30 a.m., while boats were moved in front of the divers to block Western photographers' view.
In 1994 the border guard who fired was convicted of manslaughter and given a suspended sentence of one and a half years.
Sources
Whose account is this? Drawn from a Western official record and historical research.
Western official records
- Meldung der West-Berliner Polizei über den Fluchtversuch und die Bergung von Anton Walzer, 9. Oktober 1962Chronik der Mauer (document: Polizeihistorische Sammlung des Polizeipräsidenten in Berlin)
Historians and memorials
- Walzer, AntonChronik der Mauer
- Todesopfer im GrenzflussEast Side Gallery (Stiftung Berliner Mauer)
- Bericht der West-Berliner Schutzpolizei über die Lage an der Sektoren- und Zonengrenze, Vorkommnisse auf S- und Reichsbahngelände und sonstige Ereignisse von politischer Bedeutung für den Monat Oktober 1962 [Auszug]Chronik der Mauer (document: Polizeihistorische Sammlung des Polizeipräsidenten in Berlin)
Facts checked against the sources: October 2026
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Cite this page
Berlin Experiences, “Anton Walzer – shot swimming from a barge”, Berlin Wall Escapes, 2026, https://berlinwallescapes.com/escapes/anton-walzer-oberbaumbruecke/ (accessed [date]).
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