Berlin Wall Escapes1961–1989

19 September 1961 · Window jumps · Bernauer Straße

Heavily pregnant Helga Knittel jumps first

The Knittel family called the West Berlin fire brigade, then jumped one after another from their second-floor window into its net: first the heavily pregnant mother, then the daughter, then the father.

Colour photo of a red-brick neo-Gothic church rising behind a long wall of grey concrete blocks; an orange car is parked on the cobbled street in front and 'Die Mauer muss fallen' is painted on the wall.
The Reconciliation Church behind the Wall on Bernauer Straße in January 1978; No. 8 was one of the border houses a few doors along Photo: Olga Bandelowa. Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0 de

After deciding to escape, the Knittel family of Bernauer Straße 8 let the West Berlin fire brigade know. The firefighters arrived with a jumping sheet at around 10 p.m. on 19 September 1961.

Helga Knittel, who was heavily pregnant, jumped first from the second-floor window, followed by her daughter Marina and finally the father. The escape was well prepared, and the family were able to bring some of their household goods with them.

Black-and-white photo taken over a low wall of breeze blocks topped with barbed wire: a line of canvas-covered lorries stands in a cobbled side street between tall apartment houses, with people and furniture on the pavement; signs in the foreground read 'Ende franz. Sektors' and 'Fin du secteur français'.
Lorries lined up in a side street off Bernauer Straße in early September 1961 to clear furniture from the border houses (CIA booklet photo) Photo: The Central Intelligence Agency. Wikimedia Commons, Public domain

Three days after the escape Helga Knittel gave birth to her second daughter in West Berlin.

Sources

Historians and memorials

Facts checked against the sources: September 2026

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Berlin Experiences, “Heavily pregnant Helga Knittel jumps first”, Berlin Wall Escapes, 2026, https://berlinwallescapes.com/escapes/knittel-family-bernauer-strasse-8/ (accessed [date]).

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