21 August 1961 · Over the wall
The mayor of Falkensee climbs into a West Berlin exclave
On 21 August 1961 the mayor of Falkensee climbed through the barbed wire into one of the exclaves on the edge of West Berlin and reported to the West Berlin police.
A dpa report of 22 August 1961 says that the mayor of Falkensee, a GDR community on the edge of Berlin, fled to West Berlin on Monday, 21 August. He had climbed through the barbed wire into one of the exclaves on the border, reported to the West Berlin police at about 11.30, and was brought into West Berlin under police protection. The report gives no name and does not say which exclave.
Sources
Whose account is this? Told from a press report only.
Press
- Bürgermeister geflüchtet (dpa) (Honnefer Volkszeitung, 1961-08-22, p. 1)Honnefer Volkszeitung, via Deutsche Digitale Bibliothek (Zeitungsportal)
Known from a single report line: the source says no more than this page.
Facts checked against the sources: November 2026
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Cite this page
Berlin Experiences, “The mayor of Falkensee climbs into a West Berlin exclave”, Berlin Wall Escapes, 2026, https://berlinwallescapes.com/escapes/falkensee-exclave-climbing-1961-08-21/ (accessed [date]).
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