3 March 1982 · Over the wall

Emergency brake and ladder south of the Bösebrücke

Two men pulled the emergency brake of an S-Bahn train on the curve at Bornholmer Straße, jumped out and climbed the border barriers into Wedding with a ladder.

The East Berlin S-Bahn from Schönhauser Allee to Pankow ran through the border area at Bornholmer Straße, close to the Wall.

On 3 March 1982 two passengers on a train towards Pankow pulled the emergency brake, got out and, about 50 m south of the Bösebrücke, crossed the border barriers into Wedding with a ladder.

A Stasi crime-scene photograph, with houses of the Norwegerstraße in the background, marks where the train stopped and where the men crossed the wall.

Sources

  1. Ein Mann kaperte 1983 einen Zug und wollte mit ihm in den Westen fahren - er kam aber nur bis zum Bahnhof Friedrichstraße: Republikflucht mit der S-Bahn endete vor dem PrellbockBerliner Zeitung

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  1. 19 January 1982

    A bucket, the S-Bahn tracks and the bridge over the Gartenstraße

    An unknown person stood a bucket against the rear wall in a Mitte back yard, climbed onto the tracks of the North-South S-Bahn and walked across the railway bridge into Wedding.

    Over the wall · Reached the West · Mitte

  2. 2 September 1986

    Over the rear wall and across the Bösebrücke

    A janitor and a construction helper climbed into the Bornholmer Straße checkpoint area with a ladder, got into the diplomats' lane and simply walked across the Bösebrücke — guards who saw them assumed they had been cleared.

    Over the wall · Reached the West · Pankow (Prenzlauer Berg) / Mitte (Wedding)

  3. 25 November 1963

    Dietmar Schulz – killed on the S-Bahn tracks north of Bornholmer Straße

    A 24-year-old man from Pankow tried to reach Wedding across the railway tracks in the border zone north of Bornholmer Straße and was fatally struck by a train.

    Over the wall · Killed · Pankow / Mitte (Gesundbrunnen)

  4. 18 August 1964

    Hildegard Trabant shot in the back on the disused S-Bahn line

    Discovered hiding behind an elder bush on the disused railway, 37-year-old Hildegard Trabant ran away from the border and was shot in the back.

    Over the wall · Killed · Pankow (Prenzlauer Berg)