5 January 1963 · Over the wall · Bernauer Straße

Jürgen B. is caught past the wire at Ruppiner Straße

Jürgen B. had already climbed the wire fence when guards arrested him at Ruppiner Straße in the night before 5 January 1963.

Colour photo: a large, weathered corner apartment building and a row of houses along a cobbled street, their windows bricked up, with a tree in front and overhead tram wires.
The corner of Bernauer Straße and Ruppiner Straße on 19 August 1963, the year Jürgen B. was arrested here, with the border houses' windows bricked up Photo: Roger W from Sarasota, Florida, U.S.A.. Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0

In the night leading into 5 January 1963 Jürgen B. tried to escape at Ruppiner Straße, by Bernauer Straße.

He had already climbed over the wire fence when border guards arrested him.

A street junction seen across a cobbled pavement, with a tree-lined side street leading away and a white lorry parked on the left.
The Bernauer Straße / Ruppiner Straße junction in 2007 Photo: Andreas Thum. Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

Under questioning he admitted that he had wanted to flee to West Berlin.

Sources

  1. Gedenkstätte Berliner Mauer – Bereich D: Alltag an der Mauer (Orientierungsplan und Ereignismarken), marker D 421Stiftung Berliner Mauer
  2. D 421 – Digital Guide, Berlin Wall MemorialStiftung Berliner Mauer
  3. D 421 – Digitaler Tourguide, Gedenkstätte Berliner MauerStiftung Berliner Mauer

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