22 August 1971 · Over the wall
Three Leipzig youths over the fence at Kleinmachnow
Four friends from Leipzig cut their way through the signal fence at Kleinmachnow; three climbed the expanded-metal fence in their socks and reached West Berlin, the fourth was caught.
Four young friends from Leipzig planned the escape after one of them had scouted the border at Kleinmachnow during a visit in July 1971, when he was briefly stopped by a patrol and let go.
On 22 August 1971 they met at a Leipzig pub, travelled to Kleinmachnow by public transport and motorcycle, and gathered at about 19:30 at the Philipp-Müller-Allee, 30 m from the border installations, carrying pliers and wire cutters.
Screened by bushes, they climbed the rear fence, cut the bottom three wires of the signal fence, crawled through and ran across the patrol road and control strip. At about 20:50 three of them, having taken off their shoes, helped each other over the expanded-metal fence into West Berlin.
Karl-Heinz Friedrich, who was to go last, was caught lying on the ground by a motorcycle patrol; two warning shots were fired. The nearest guards, 450 m away, had not seen the group, and a triggered signal had not been acted on.
Sources
- Jahrgang 1971: Fluchtversuch von Jugendlichen nach WestberlinStasi-Unterlagen-Archiv (Die DDR im Blick der Stasi)
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