11 September 1966 · Driving through · Staaken
Bulldozer through the Staaken border
Two married couples and a three-year-old child flattened the Staaken border fences with an armoured 18-tonne bulldozer until a tree stopped them in Spandau.
The bulldozer weighed 18 tonnes and had originally been used to clear weeds on the death strip. Its driver's cab and injection pump were armoured with steel plates.
On 11 September 1966 two married couples and a three-year-old child drove it from Staaken towards Spandau. It broke through an alarm fence and flattened several wire fences.
GDR border soldiers fired almost 60 bullets at the machine, and two of the adults suffered light grazing wounds.
The bulldozer was finally stopped by a tree, which stood on West Berlin territory in Spandau. All five had made it to the West.
Sources
Whose account is this? Drawn from a press report and historical research.
Press
Historians and memorials
Facts checked against the sources: October 2026
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Cite this page
Berlin Experiences, “Bulldozer through the Staaken border”, Berlin Wall Escapes, 2026, https://berlinwallescapes.com/escapes/bulldozer-staaken-1966/ (accessed [date]).
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