Berlin Wall Escapes1961–1989

14 August 1961 · False papers and disguises · Bernauer Straße

Dr. G. rides an ambulance through the Brunnenstraße crossing and stays in the West

In the first night after the border was sealed, a doctor accompanying an ambulance from East to West Berlin through the Brunnenstraße crossing did not go back.

Sunny street corner with a grass strip and path in front, low apartment buildings behind, and on the right a white gable wall labelled 'Bernauer Straße' with a large black-and-white mural and a row of photo panels.
The corner of Bernauer Straße and Brunnenstraße in April 2022, now part of the Berlin Wall Memorial; in August 1961 Brunnenstraße could still be crossed here for about ten days after the border was sealed Photo: Francesco Adami. Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

In the days after 13 August 1961 Brunnenstraße, at its junction with Bernauer Straße, was still a crossing point between East and West Berlin. The Berlin Wall Memorial says it stayed open for about ten days after the Wall was built.

At around 2.30 a.m. on 14 August 1961 an ambulance passed through the crossing on its way from East to West Berlin. A physician travelled with it, identified in the memorial text only as Dr. G.

Close-up of a pavement: a double row of cobblestones set between grey paving slabs, with a metal plate in the row reading 'Berliner Mauer 1961 - 1989'.
A double row of cobbles with a plate reading 'Berliner Mauer 1961–1989' marks the line of the Wall across Brunnenstraße (2018) Photo: Andrzej Otrębski. Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Dr. G. used the journey to leave the GDR: he did not return to the eastern part of the city. The memorial marks the event with marker C 395, near the former crossing.

Sources

  1. Gedenkstätte Berliner Mauer – Bereich C: Der Bau der Mauer (Orientierungsplan und Ereignismarken), marker C 395Stiftung Berliner Mauer
  2. C 395 – Digital Guide, Berlin Wall MemorialStiftung Berliner Mauer
  3. C 395 – Digitaler Tourguide, Gedenkstätte Berliner MauerStiftung Berliner Mauer

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