16 July 1988 · Over the wall · Checkpoint Charlie
Over the gate and into the control area at Checkpoint Charlie
A 23-year-old lorry driver working on Berlin building sites climbed a gate and a wire fence and tried to get through the control area at Checkpoint Charlie. People on the western viewing platform watched his arrest, and Western media published photos taken from there.
At about 5.25 p.m. on 16 July 1988 a 23-year-old lorry driver from Cottbus, who was working on East Berlin building sites under the 'Berlin Initiative' and living in a workers' hostel, climbed over a gate and a wire-mesh fence at the Friedrichstraße/Zimmerstraße crossing and tried to get through the control area into West Berlin.
Passport controllers and border troops overpowered him; he resisted violently and was heavily drunk. The crossing was closed for five minutes, from 5.25 to 5.30 p.m.
About 100 travellers in 20 cars and three coaches were at the crossing, and about 30 people watched from the viewing platform on the West Berlin side; Western media published photos taken from there. He had already been sentenced to eight months in 1984 for trying to leave via Czechoslovakia.
Sources
Whose account is this? Told from a GDR record only: documents of the GDR’s police, Stasi or border troops. No other account of the event is cited.
GDR records
- Jahrgang 1988: Fluchtversuch an der GÜST Berlin Friedrichstraße/Zimmerstraße – Information Nr. 355/88, 18 July 1988Stasi-Unterlagen-Archiv (DDR im Blick)
Facts checked against the sources: September 2026
Spotted an error, or know more about this story? Email us a correction or addition
Cite this page
Berlin Experiences, “Over the gate and into the control area at Checkpoint Charlie”, Berlin Wall Escapes, 2026, https://berlinwallescapes.com/escapes/checkpoint-charlie-gate-drunk-driver-1988/ (accessed [date]).
Related escapes
17 January 1986
Telecom fitter runs through Checkpoint Charlie
A 21-year-old East Berlin telecommunications fitter, installing surveillance cameras at Checkpoint Charlie, used an unguarded moment to run through the control area to West Berlin.
30 October 1986
Two East Germans climb the barriers at Checkpoint Charlie and are caught
On Thursday 30 October 1986 two East Germans tried to reach West Berlin by climbing over the barriers at Checkpoint Charlie. East German border guards took them away after a brief struggle.
25 September 1988
Two young men run through the Brandenburg Gate and stop at a warning shot
On the evening of 25 September 1988 two young East Berliners ran through the Brandenburg Gate towards the West; they stopped when a guard fired a warning shot and were led away.
28 September 1988
Two get over the Wall at Bethaniendamm under fire; their companion is caught
At about 12.30 p.m. on 28 September 1988 two East Berliners aged 20 and 21 climbed the Wall at Bethaniendamm into Kreuzberg despite shots; a 20-year-old woman who wanted to go with them was arrested.
