Berlin Wall Escapes1961–1989

23 August 1962 · Guards who fled

Hans-Dieter Wesa shot at Bornholmer Straße station

Transport policeman Hans-Dieter Wesa, 19, climbed the border fence at the closed Bornholmer Straße S-Bahn station and was shot dead by his post partner after he had already reached West Berlin territory.

A railway cutting with tracks, a concrete wall alongside, and a steel road bridge crossing overhead
The railway corridor with the Berlin Wall, the Bösebrücke and Bornholmer Straße S-Bahn station, June 1988 Photo: Roehrensee. Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Hans-Dieter Wesa, born in 1943, had enlisted in the Transportpolizei in 1960 and was transferred to border duty in Berlin in April 1962. On 23 August 1962 he was guarding the S-Bahn station Bornholmer Straße, a closed station under the Bösebrücke on the line between Prenzlauer Berg and Wedding, together with 18-year-old Adolf B.

At about 8:15 p.m., on the pretext of switching on the lights, Wesa climbed over the border fence. His partner pursued him and opened fire. A first bullet hit Wesa in the thigh and he fell; B. then went up to the fence and killed him at close range with shots to the face and torso.

Photograph of the Bornholmer Straße border area with soldiers, the steel bridge and the S-Bahn station
Border troops at the Bornholmer Straße crossing and S-Bahn station, photographed from the East in 1982 Photo: Gerd Danigel, gerddanigel.de.. Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

According to the Chronik der Mauer, Wesa was already on West Berlin territory when he was killed. The West Berlin police chief filed charges, Mayor Willy Brandt and Senator Klaus Schütz came to the scene that evening, and a memorial cross was put up at Bornholmer Straße.

Adolf B. was charged with manslaughter in 1994 but took his own life in September 1994, before the trial.

Sources

Western official records

Historians and memorials

Facts checked against the sources: October 2026

Spotted an error, or know more about this story? Email us a correction or addition

Cite this page

Berlin Experiences, “Hans-Dieter Wesa shot at Bornholmer Straße station”, Berlin Wall Escapes, 2026, https://berlinwallescapes.com/escapes/hans-dieter-wesa-bornholmer-strasse-1962/ (accessed [date]).

Related escapes

  1. 18 April 1962

    Deserting cadets' gunfight at Griebnitzsee

    Two armed NVA officer cadets tried to desert to West Berlin across disused S-Bahn land at Griebnitzsee; in the exchange of fire border guard Jörgen Schmidtchen and cadet Peter Böhme were killed, while Wolfgang G. reached the West.

    Guards who fled · Some got through · Potsdam

  2. 3 April 1962

    A border guard is shot down 15 metres from the line at Dreilinden

    On 3 April 1962 a GDR border guard tried to reach West Berlin at the Dreilinden control point. A comrade set his dog on him and shot him. Badly wounded, he lay 15 metres from the border until he was taken away.

    Guards who fled · Stopped · Steglitz-Zehlendorf

  3. 1 August 1962

    Conscript Jörg S. stages a check and escapes with two friends

    A conscript on rear-guard duty waved two friends through, lured his squad leader into a back yard where one of them knocked him down with a spade, and the three ran for the Wall; a fourth friend gave up when shots were fired.

    Guards who fled · Some got through · Mitte

  4. 21 February 1962

    Rudi Thurow leads refugees to Steinstücken

    Border policeman Rudi Thurow removed the firing pins from his two comrades' submachine guns and fled with three acquaintances to the West Berlin exclave of Steinstücken; there was an exchange of fire but nobody was hurt.

    Guards who fled · Reached the West · Steglitz-Zehlendorf (Wannsee)