Berlin Wall Escapes1961–1989

20 September 1961 · Window jumps · Bernauer Straße

Five fire engines for two jumpers at Bernauer Straße 10

Just after midnight guards watched five fire engines take up position with jumping sheets; shortly afterwards two people jumped.

Elevated view over a lawn with rows of rusty steel rods marking the former Wall, a road and cycle path in front, parked cars in a side street on the left and a white gable wall with a large 1961 photo mural.
The Berlin Wall Memorial on Bernauer Straße in 2016; No. 10 stood on this stretch between Ackerstraße and Brunnenstraße Photo: Fridolin freudenfett. Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Shortly after midnight on 20 September 1961 border guards watched five fire engines drive up to Bernauer Straße 10 and take up position with jumping sheets.

A little later two people jumped from the window into the West.

Black-and-white photo taken over a low wall of breeze blocks topped with barbed wire: a line of canvas-covered lorries stands in a cobbled side street between tall apartment houses, with people and furniture on the pavement; signs in the foreground read 'Ende franz. Sektors' and 'Fin du secteur français'.
Lorries lined up in a side street off Bernauer Straße in early September 1961 to clear furniture from the border houses (CIA booklet photo) Photo: The Central Intelligence Agency. Wikimedia Commons, Public domain

It was the second escape from this house that night: at about 11.30 p.m. the previous evening Mrs K., her daughter-in-law and her grandson had jumped from her flat at Bernauer Straße 10.

Sources

Historians and memorials

Facts checked against the sources: September 2026

Spotted an error, or know more about this story? Email us a correction or addition

Cite this page

Berlin Experiences, “Five fire engines for two jumpers at Bernauer Straße 10”, Berlin Wall Escapes, 2026, https://berlinwallescapes.com/escapes/bernauer-strasse-10-five-fire-engines-1961/ (accessed [date]).

Related escapes

  1. 30 August 1961

    Two escapes in one night from Bernauer Straße 2

    At 1.30 a.m. a tenant and two friends roped down from Bernauer Straße 2; at about 4 a.m. five more people fled through a window of the same house.

    Window jumps · Reached the West · Mitte

  2. 19 September 1961

    Heavily pregnant Helga Knittel jumps first

    The Knittel family called the West Berlin fire brigade, then jumped one after another from their second-floor window into its net: first the heavily pregnant mother, then the daughter, then the father.

    Window jumps · Reached the West · Mitte

  3. 19 September 1961

    Three generations jump into the net at Bernauer Straße 10

    At about 11.30 p.m. Mrs K., her daughter-in-law and her grandson Detlef jumped from the second floor into a West Berlin fire brigade net.

    Window jumps · Reached the West · Mitte

  4. 19 September 1961

    Erich B.'s family jumps from Bernauer Straße 42

    A family of five from Swinemünder Straße 23 jumped from the first floor of the neighbouring house into a fire brigade net; the father broke his thigh.

    Window jumps · Reached the West · Mitte