22 August 1961 · Over the wall
Over the wall at Boyenstraße, then a photo
On 22 August 1961 a man waited in the hallway of Boyenstraße 43 until a patrol had passed, then pulled himself up the new wall and jumped over. From the West Berlin side, he took photographs.

In Boyenstraße, near the Chausseestraße crossing, the sector boundary ran along the street, and a wall had just been built.
At about 11.30 on 22 August 1961 an unknown man was standing in the hallway of Boyenstraße 43. As soon as the patrolling policeman had walked past, he ran at the wall, pulled himself up in a flash and jumped over.
He then stood in front of Boyenstraße 2 on the western side and took photographs from there. The guard post at Chausseestraße reported the breakthrough at 11.35.
Sources
- Stab PdVP Berlin – Journal der Handlung, 22 August 1961Chronik der Mauer (document: Landesarchiv Berlin, C Rep. 303/26.1/239)
- Bericht Nr. 475/61, 22 August 1961 – Lage nach dem Bau der Berliner Mauer (6)Stasi-Unterlagen-Archiv (DDR im Blick)
Spotted an error, or know more about this story? Email us a correction or addition
Related escapes
24 August 1961
Two masons sent to measure the wall climb it
On the morning of 24 August 1961 two masons who had been sent to take measurements at the wall of the Liesenstraße cemetery climbed over it into West Berlin. A third was stopped.

18 August 1961
Three wires cut at the Heidekampgraben
On 18 August 1961 a youth cut three strands of barbed wire at the Heidekampgraben near the Sonnenallee crossing and escaped. A family of three who tried to follow him through the gap was arrested.

21 August 1961
The person in the white coat from the Charité
On 21 August 1961 a person in a white coat came out of the last gate of the Charité and jumped over the barrier into West Berlin while the guard had been called to the telephone.

13 August 1961
Through the graveyard and the church door: Hildegard K. and her son
On the night the border closed, a radio singer and her eldest son crept through back yards and the Elisabeth cemetery to the Reconciliation Church, whose door to West Berlin was still open.
