Berlin Wall Escapes1961–1989

19 September 1961 · Window jumps · Bernauer Straße

Three generations jump into the net at Bernauer Straße 10

At about 11.30 p.m. Mrs K., her daughter-in-law and her grandson Detlef jumped from the second floor into a West Berlin fire brigade net.

Elevated view over a lawn with rows of rusty steel rods marking the former Wall, a road and cycle path in front, parked cars in a side street on the left and a white gable wall with a large 1961 photo mural.
The Berlin Wall Memorial on Bernauer Straße in 2016; No. 10 stood on this stretch between Ackerstraße and Brunnenstraße Photo: Fridolin freudenfett. Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

At about 11.30 p.m. on 19 September 1961 Mrs K., her daughter-in-law and her grandson Detlef fled from Mrs K.'s flat at Bernauer Straße 10.

They jumped from the second floor into a jumping sheet held by the West Berlin fire brigade.

Black-and-white photo taken over a low wall of breeze blocks topped with barbed wire: a line of canvas-covered lorries stands in a cobbled side street between tall apartment houses, with people and furniture on the pavement; signs in the foreground read 'Ende franz. Sektors' and 'Fin du secteur français'.
Lorries lined up in a side street off Bernauer Straße in early September 1961 to clear furniture from the border houses (CIA booklet photo) Photo: The Central Intelligence Agency. Wikimedia Commons, Public domain

The same evening, at Bernauer Straße 8, the Knittel family also escaped into a fire brigade net.

Sources

Historians and memorials

Facts checked against the sources: September 2026

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Berlin Experiences, “Three generations jump into the net at Bernauer Straße 10”, Berlin Wall Escapes, 2026, https://berlinwallescapes.com/escapes/frau-k-grandson-detlef-bernauer-strasse-10-1961/ (accessed [date]).

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