Berlin Wall Escapes1961–1989

5 September 1961 · Window jumps

Karl-Heinz S. climbs down a fire brigade ladder while police hold the guards at bay

At 3 a.m. West Berlin police drew pistols and dazzled the guards with mirrors while the fire brigade set a ladder against the corner house for four escapees.

At about three o'clock in the morning of 5 September 1961 Karl-Heinz S. escaped through a window of his flat at Ackerstraße 43, together with two other people and a child.

West Berlin police covered the escape: officers with drawn pistols kept the GDR sentries behind the cemetery wall in check, and the guards were dazzled with mirrors. The fire brigade put a ladder against the wall of the house, and the escapees climbed down from the second floor to Bernauer Straße.

When East Berlin police broke open the flat, all they found was a rope hanging out of the window, on which household goods had been lowered to the West beforehand.

Sources

  1. Gedenkstätte Berliner Mauer – Bereich B: Die Zerstörung der Stadt (Orientierungsplan und Ereignismarken), marker B 357Stiftung Berliner Mauer
  2. B 357 – Digital Guide, Berlin Wall MemorialStiftung Berliner Mauer

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