2 July 1962 · Over the wall · Bernauer Straße
Truck driver Günter P. climbs the Wall on his first day at the site
On his first day on a guarded demolition site, a driver climbed the Wall while another truck blocked the guards' view.
In 1962 and 1963 outbuildings and side wings behind the border houses were torn down; border soldiers guarded the building workers brought in for the demolition.
Günter P. came to the site at the Kobold works for the first time as a truck driver on 2 July 1962. While another truck was manoeuvring in front of the narrow entrance and blocking the sentries' view, he climbed over the border wall next to the house at Bernauer Straße 23.
Two women working at the Kobold works saw him go and told a building worker, who in turn told one of the guards that P. had "cleared off". By then Günter P. was long gone to the West.
Sources
Whose account is this? Told from historical research only.
Historians and memorials
- Gedenkstätte Berliner Mauer – Bereich C: Der Bau der Mauer (Orientierungsplan und Ereignismarken), marker C 397Stiftung Berliner Mauer
- C 397 – Digital Guide, Berlin Wall MemorialStiftung Berliner Mauer
Facts checked against the sources: September 2026
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Cite this page
Berlin Experiences, “Truck driver Günter P. climbs the Wall on his first day at the site”, Berlin Wall Escapes, 2026, https://berlinwallescapes.com/escapes/guenter-p-demolition-site-1962/ (accessed [date]).
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