Berlin Wall Escapes1961–1989

21 August 1961 · Window jumps

A 63-year-old climbs out of her window as Harzer Straße is cleared

During the resettlement of residents in Harzer Straße, Treptow, in August 1961, a 63-year-old woman from No. 109 used the opportunity to climb out of the window and go to West Berlin.

A cobbled street lined with parked cars and apartment blocks on the right, and the Berlin Wall with bare trees on the left.
Harzer Straße in November 1986: the pavement on the right was in Neukölln, the houses behind the Wall on the left in Treptow – the side from which the woman climbed out in 1961 Photo: Roehrensee. Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

Harzer Straße ran between the districts of Treptow and Neukölln, with houses in the immediate vicinity of the border. On 21 August 1961 the East Berlin police reported the clearing of a residential building in the street, with press photographers and some 40 to 50 onlookers watching from the West Berlin side.

The Stasi report of 21 August 1961 noted that, although breakthroughs were becoming rarer, some people still managed to get across. Its first example: a 63-year-old woman from Harzer Straße 109 used the opportunity of the resettlement and climbed out of the window to go to West Berlin.

The Berlin Wall running along a street corner in Treptow, November 1989.
The Wall at the corner of Bouchéstraße and Harzer Straße on 18 November 1989 Photo: Florian Schäffer. Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

On 20 September 1961, according to the Chronik der Mauer, twenty apartment buildings in Harzer Straße with about 250 families were forcibly cleared.

Sources

  1. Jahrgang 1961: Lage nach dem Bau der Berliner Mauer (5) – Bericht Nr. 470/61, 21. August 1961Stasi-Unterlagen-Archiv (DDR im Blick)
  2. Stab Präsidium der Volkspolizei Berlin, Abt. Information – Journal der Handlung, 21 August 1961Chronik der Mauer (document: Landesarchiv Berlin, C Rep. 303/26.1/239)
  3. Chronik 1961, September (daily entries)Chronik der Mauer

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Related escapes

  1. 12 September 1961

    A 56-year-old jumps from the third floor of Harzer Straße 113 into the fire brigade's sheet

    At about 9.20 a.m. on 12 September 1961 a 56-year-old woman jumped from the third floor of Harzer Straße 113 into a jumping sheet held ready by the West Berlin fire brigade.

    Window jumps · Reached the West · Treptow-Köpenick (Alt-Treptow) → Neukölln

  2. 22 August 1961

    A railway-works employee lowers himself on a rope in Onckenstraße

    According to a Stasi report of 22 August 1961, a man who had worked at the Treptow railway repair works left his flat in Onckenstraße by means of a rope and went to West Berlin.

    Window jumps · Reached the West · Treptow-Köpenick (Alt-Treptow) → Neukölln

  3. 13 September 1961

    Fire-net escapes at Harzer Straße, Treptow

    Two men escaped from Harzer Straße 109 into a fire brigade net, but two hours later East Berlin police used a water cannon and tear gas to stop two women jumping from No. 117.

    Window jumps · Some got through · Treptow-Köpenick

  4. 20 August 1961

    Out of the window at the Brunnenstraße corner

    At about 10.50 a.m. on 20 August 1961 two people left their flat on Bernauer Street at the Brunnenstraße corner through the windows and reached West Berlin.

    Window jumps · Reached the West · Mitte