23 August 1961 · Over the wall
Over the wire with a ladder at Groß Ziethen
On 23 August 1961 an unknown man used a ladder to climb the border barrier at Groß Ziethen, south of Berlin, and got into West Berlin.
The report places this crossing in the locality of Groß Ziethen (today Großziethen), in the sector of the Blankenfelde border unit (GB Blankenfelde).
The Stasi situation report of 24 August 1961 lists, among five breakthroughs from the GDR into West Berlin on 23 August, an unknown man who climbed over the border barrier in the locality of Groß Ziethen with the help of a ladder.
Nothing more is known about him: the report gives no time, no exact place and no description.
Sources
Whose account is this? Told from a GDR record only: documents of the GDR’s police, Stasi or border troops. No other account of the event is cited.
GDR records
- Jahrgang 1961: Lage nach dem Bau der Berliner Mauer (7) – Bericht Nr. 477/61, 24. August 1961Stasi-Unterlagen-Archiv (DDR im Blick)
Facts checked against the sources: September 2026
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Cite this page
Berlin Experiences, “Over the wire with a ladder at Groß Ziethen”, Berlin Wall Escapes, 2026, https://berlinwallescapes.com/escapes/gross-ziethen-ladder-1961/ (accessed [date]).
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