24 October 1969 · Over the wall
35 shots at Karl-Heinz Br. and Gerd W. in the cemetery strip
Two men crawling across the control strip were spotted from the Ackerstraße watchtower; the guards fired 35 rounds, and both were arrested unhurt behind the vehicle barrier.
In October 1969 Karl-Heinz Br. and Gerd W. tried to escape across the Sophien cemetery. The signal system on the inner fence was not working, and they got over it and began to crawl across the raked control strip.
Soldiers in the watchtower at Ackerstraße spotted them and opened fire at once, firing 35 rounds between them. The two men were not hit and took cover behind the anti-vehicle barrier.
They were arrested there after one of them had tried in vain to crawl away; according to press reports he was knocked down with a rifle butt. Both were taken to the People's Police station on Brunnenstraße. Two of the shots had hit the post office at Nordbahnhof.
Sources
- Gedenkstätte Berliner Mauer – Bereich A: Die Mauer und der Todesstreifen (Orientierungsplan und Ereignismarken), marker A 323Stiftung Berliner Mauer
- A 323 – Digital Guide, Berlin Wall MemorialStiftung Berliner Mauer
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Helmut P. is shot at but gets over the cemetery wall
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