23 August 1961 · False papers and disguises
The chauffeur who was looking for his ring
On 23 August 1961 a workers' militia driver in uniform pulled up at the Dresdner Straße checkpoint and told the police he had lost his ring there. While pretending to look for it, he jumped over the wall.
Klaus P. was born in Wuppertal in 1935 and lived in Karlshorst. He was a member of a workers' militia (Kampfgruppe) battalion, where he drove the commander's car. In civilian life he was the personal driver of August Bach, chairman of the East German CDU and a member of the Volkskammer.
At about 7.00 on 23 August 1961 he drove up to the checkpoint at Dresdner Straße in his militia uniform, in the car IB 43-82. He told the police there that he had lost his ring at the spot and wanted to look for it.
While he was supposedly searching, he jumped over the wall into West Berlin. He had no weapon with him. The police noted that he was not a party member but belonged to the GST, the paramilitary sports organisation.
Sources
Whose account is this? Told from GDR records only: documents of the GDR’s police, Stasi or border troops. No other account of the event is cited.
GDR records
- Stab PdVP Berlin – Journal der Handlung, 23 August 1961Chronik der Mauer (document: Landesarchiv Berlin, C Rep. 303/26.1/239)
- Bericht Nr. 477/61, 24 August 1961 – Lage nach dem Bau der Berliner Mauer (7)Stasi-Unterlagen-Archiv (DDR im Blick)
Facts checked against the sources: September 2026
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Cite this page
Berlin Experiences, “The chauffeur who was looking for his ring”, Berlin Wall Escapes, 2026, https://berlinwallescapes.com/escapes/klaus-p-lost-ring-dresdner-strasse-1961/ (accessed [date]).
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