A couple from Potsdam swims the Havel with their infant son in a rubber tub
Early on 10 September 1961 a young couple from Potsdam swam across the Havel into West Berlin, pushing their 18-month-old son across the river in a rubber tub, the New York Times reported.
Early on the morning of 10 September 1961, according to the New York Times, a young couple from Potsdam swam across the Havel, which formed part of the border between West Berlin and East Germany. They brought their small son with them in a rubber tub. The paper gives the boy's age as eighteen months, says his parents pushed him across the river in the tub, and calls him the youngest of the refugees that day.
It was one of three escapes the paper reported from that morning, in which sixteen people in all reached West Berlin. The report does not name the couple or say where they crossed.
Sources
Whose account is this? Told from a press report only.
Press
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, “A couple from Potsdam swims the Havel with their infant son in a rubber tub”, Berlin Wall Escapes, 2026, https://berlinwallescapes.com/escapes/havel-couple-baby-rubber-tub-1961/ (accessed [date]).
Related escapes
August 1961
Rita Bergemann and Michael Reck swim the Havel from Sacrow
A good two weeks after the Wall went up, a young Potsdam couple swam roughly 300 metres across the narrowest part of the Havel from Sacrow to Moorlake, just as a patrol boat turned away.
15 August 1961
Married couple swims the Britz canal under police fire
On 15 August 1961 East German police fired at a married couple swimming across the 'Britz Canal'; both escaped the bullets and reached the West Berlin bank exhausted.
26 August 1961
A man and a woman swim the Teltow Canal near the Späthbrücke
At about 4.30 p.m. on 26 August 1961 a woman and a man swam across the Teltow Canal near the Späthbrücke into West Berlin.
26 November 1961
Lothar Lehmann – a young policeman swims from Sacrow
A 19-year-old member of the Groß Glienicke readiness police slipped into the Havel at Sacrow wearing a life jacket; the cold water caused a shock and he died after being pulled out by guards.
