Both legs broken: a jump from Harzer Straße 110
On the evening of 23 August 1961 a young man slipped into Harzer Straße 110 by a back entrance and jumped from the second-floor stairwell window into West Berlin, breaking both legs.
At about 19.30 on 23 August 1961 a man of about 20 jumped from the second floor of Harzer Straße 110 and broke both legs. On the West Berlin side an ambulance, a jeep with four American soldiers, a police radio car and a fire engine came to help.
The local East Berlin police officer found out afterwards that the man was not known in the neighbourhood. He had come in by a back entrance and jumped from the window on the second-floor landing. The tenants on that floor could say nothing about him. That evening the Interior Ministry staff noted that people could still get into the houses at Harzer Straße 108–111 without being seen.
Sources
Whose account is this? Told from GDR records only: documents of the GDR’s police, Stasi or border troops. No other account of the event is cited.
GDR records
- Stab PdVP Berlin – Journal der Handlung, 23 August 1961Chronik der Mauer (document: Landesarchiv Berlin, C Rep. 303/26.1/239)
- 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: November 2026
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Cite this page
Berlin Experiences, “Both legs broken: a jump from Harzer Straße 110”, Berlin Wall Escapes, 2026, https://berlinwallescapes.com/escapes/harzer-strasse-110-jump-1961/ (accessed [date]).
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