23 March 1966 · Guards who fled

"Now there are two fewer of you!"

Two conscripts on duty at Eberswalder Straße broke open a door in the sight screen, climbed onto the freight-yard wall and jumped into the West; their comrades only noticed when a West Berlin policeman shouted across.

Winter view of the concrete Wall where Bernauer Straße meets Eberswalder Straße
The Berlin Wall between Bernauer Straße and Eberswalder Straße, January 1974 Photo: Andreas Schwarzkopf. Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

On 23 March 1966 the conscripts Udo S. and Burckhardt B. were posted at Eberswalder Straße. Both were unhappy with border duty, and that afternoon they decided to flee.

They broke open the door in the sight screen at Eberswalder Straße, which took them out of view of the other guards. To the right of the screen they climbed onto the wall of the freight yard and jumped down into the West.

View across the Wall towards an East Berlin street with a tram turning loop
Looking over the Wall from the end of Bernauer Straße into Eberswalder Straße, East Berlin, 1982 Photo: Lothar Weber. Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Their escape only came to light when a West Berlin police officer called out to the remaining guards: "Na, jetzt seid ihr ja zwei weniger!" ("Well, now there are two fewer of you!")

Sources

  1. Gedenkstätte Berliner Mauer – Bereich D: Alltag an der Mauer (Orientierungsplan und Ereignismarken)Stiftung Berliner Mauer

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