Berlin Wall Escapes1961–1989

12 May 1963 · Driving through

Failed bus escape at Invalidenstraße

Eight young East Berliners tried to ram a stolen, steel-plated bus through the Invalidenstraße crossing; it was riddled with bullets and stopped one metre short of the West.

Colour photo of a border crossing across a bridge with control installations and the Wall.
The Invalidenstraße border crossing at the Sandkrugbrücke in October 1987 Photo: Roehrensee. Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

Eight East Berliners aged 20 to 28 stole a heavy bus from the BVG depot in Treptow. They had welded 12 mm steel plates into shields, some set up in the aisle like a pointed roof and others meant to be raised behind the windscreen.

Around 13:00 on Sunday 12 May 1963 the bus came from Scharnhorststraße and headed through the concrete slalom of the Invalidenstraße crossing towards the narrow opening leading to the Sandkrugbrücke and West Berlin.

Black-and-white photo of uniformed guards and civilians pushing a car past a small barrier at a checkpoint on a tree-lined street.
Border guards and civilians push a car that would not start through the Invalidenstraße crossing on 31 October 1964, a year after the bus escape attempt (GDR press photo) Photo: Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-C1031-0044-008 / Rudolf Hesse. Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 de

Border soldiers opened fire from all sides: 120 rounds from submachine guns and 18 from pistols. The driver and two passengers in the cab were seriously wounded, and the bus crashed into the last concrete barrier, about one metre from the West.

All eight were arrested. The driver and two others received prison sentences of 9 to 10 years; the remaining passengers got 3 to 7.5 years. A West Berlin helper who had arranged support on the western side was also sentenced. Manfred Massenthe, named as the ringleader, was bought free by West Germany after about two years.

Sources

  1. Gescheiterte Bus-Flucht am Grenzübergang Invalidenstraße, 12. Mai 1963Chronik der Mauer
  2. Nur ein Meter fehlte bis zur Freiheit: Die Flucht mit einem Bus scheitert am 12. Mai 1963 im KugelhagelChronik der Mauer (orig. Die Welt, Kellerhoff/Hertle)
  3. Im Kugelhagel gestopptBundesarchiv

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