12 May 1963 · Driving through · Invalidenstraße and the Humboldthafen
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.
Eight East Berliners aged 20 to 28 used a stolen BVG coach for the attempt. The driver, Gerd K., was a foreman at the BVG bus depot in Treptow. The planners 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.
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
Whose account is this? Drawn from GDR records, a press report and historical research.
GDR records
- Im Kugelhagel gestopptBundesarchiv
- Bericht der Arbeitsgruppe Passkontrolle und Fahndung über eine gescheiterte Busflucht am Grenzübergang Invalidenstraße (BArch, MfS, AU, Nr. 11392/70, Bd. 2, Bl. 8-9)Stasi-Unterlagen-Archiv (Stasi-Mediathek)
- Handschriftlicher Bericht eines Passkontrolleurs über einen Fluchtversuch mit einem BVG-Bus (BArch, MfS, AU, Nr. 11392/70, Bd. 2, Bl. 12)Stasi-Unterlagen-Archiv (Stasi-Mediathek)
- Fotodokumentation einer gescheiterten Flucht mit einem BVG-Bus (BArch, MfS, AU, Nr. 11391/70, Bd. 9)Stasi-Unterlagen-Archiv (Stasi-Mediathek)
Press
- 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)
Historians and memorials
Facts checked against the sources: September 2026
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Cite this page
Berlin Experiences, “Failed bus escape at Invalidenstraße”, Berlin Wall Escapes, 2026, https://berlinwallescapes.com/escapes/bus-invalidenstrasse-1963/ (accessed [date]).
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