Berlin Wall Escapes1961–1989

12 September 1961 · Window jumps

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.

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 East Berlin houses stood behind the Wall on the left, and in 1961 residents escaped from them onto the western pavement Photo: Roehrensee. Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

According to the Stasi report covering 11 to 14 September 1961, a 56-year-old woman jumped from the third floor of Harzer Straße 113 at about 9.20 a.m. on 12 September into a jumping sheet held ready by the West Berlin fire brigade.

The Stasi gave the case, together with the rescue of a 69-year-old woman from the first floor of Bernauer Straße 23 with the help of the West Berlin fire brigade at about 0.15 a.m. the same day, as an example of breakthroughs carried out 'with the active support' of the West Berlin police. On 20 September, according to the Chronik der Mauer, twenty apartment buildings in Harzer Straße with about 250 families were forcibly cleared.

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

Sources

  1. Jahrgang 1961: Lage nach dem Bau der Berliner Mauer (21) – Bericht Nr. 560/61, 14. September 1961Stasi-Unterlagen-Archiv (DDR im Blick)
  2. Chronik 1961, September (daily entries)Chronik der Mauer

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