Berlin Wall Escapes1961–1989

1 August 1962 · Guards who fled · Bernauer Straße

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.

Sepia photo of an old tram on a cobbled street, with tall tenement houses whose ground-floor windows are bricked up on the right and a screen wall across the street behind.
Bernauer Straße at Wolliner Straße on 8 June 1962, two months before the escape from nearby Swinemünder Straße Photo: Sigurd Hilkenbach. Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

In July 1962 Jörg S. decided to escape with his friends Erich E., Gerd Sch. and W. He was then serving as a conscript at the Wall, and they planned to use that. On 1 August 1962 he was on duty as rear sentry at the barrier on Swinemünder Straße.

At about 9.15 p.m. Erich E. and W. came into the border area. After Jörg S. had pretended to check them, they went into the house at Swinemünder Straße 23. Shortly afterwards Jörg S. asked his squad leader, G., to come to the house because civilians were there. As G. entered the back yard, one of the two knocked him down with a field spade.

A large corner apartment building on Bernauer Straße in winter.
The corner house Bernauer Straße 44 / Wolliner Straße in January 1978 Photo: John Spooner. Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0

Jörg S., Erich E. and W. ran for the Wall. When the squad leader came round he fired ten shots from his Kalashnikov to raise the alarm, but the other guards could not stop the escape. Gerd Sch., who had been waiting at the barrier, gave up when he heard the shots and was arrested in his home town a few days later.

Sources

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Facts checked against the sources: September 2026

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Berlin Experiences, “Conscript Jörg S. stages a check and escapes with two friends”, Berlin Wall Escapes, 2026, https://berlinwallescapes.com/escapes/joerg-s-swinemuender-strasse-1962/ (accessed [date]).

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