6 December 1961 · Guards who fled

Gefreiter K. climbs the Wall behind a sight screen at Strelitzer Straße

Posted directly at the Wall, out of his squad leader's sight behind a screen, a transferred riot policeman climbed over just after midday.

At midday on 6 December 1961 Gefreiter K. was on duty at Strelitzer Straße, standing directly in front of the border wall. His squad leader was watching Strelitzer Straße about sixty metres away, and a sight screen between them meant he could not see K.

Shortly after midday K. climbed over the Wall.

He had been transferred to border duty from the Bereitschaftspolizei (riot police). He viewed the Wall with scepticism because it divided families; he himself had a brother and a sister in the West.

Sources

  1. Gedenkstätte Berliner Mauer – Bereich B: Die Zerstörung der Stadt (Orientierungsplan und Ereignismarken), marker B 337Stiftung Berliner Mauer
  2. B 337 – Digital Guide, Berlin Wall MemorialStiftung Berliner Mauer

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