23 August 1961 · Over the wall
Two volunteer firemen from Groß Kreuz leave the border works at Kleinmachnow
Two members of the Groß Kreuz volunteer fire brigade, who had signed up to help build the border fortifications, went over to West Berlin near the Kleinmachnow/Ost control point on the morning of 23 August 1961.
In the days after 13 August 1961 the GDR drafted in all kinds of helpers to build fences around West Berlin, among them volunteer fire brigades from the surrounding countryside.
Two firemen from Groß Kreuz had volunteered for this 'pioneer work' in the border area. At about 8.35 a.m. on 23 August they deserted near the Kleinmachnow/Ost control point, in the sector of the Blankenfelde border unit, and went over to West Berlin.
The Stasi listed the case in its situation report of 24 August among the desertions of the day, next to a border policeman and a Kampfgruppe driver who jumped the Wall at Dresdner Straße. It gives no names and does not describe how the two men got through the wire. Two days later, a fireman from Nauen used the same kind of work to escape through the Eiskeller enclave.
Sources
- Jahrgang 1961: Lage nach dem Bau der Berliner Mauer (7) – Bericht Nr. 477/61, 24. August 1961Stasi-Unterlagen-Archiv (DDR im Blick)
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