Berlin Wall Escapes1961–1989

16 August 1961 · Driving through · The Spree between Kreuzberg and Friedrichshain

The flower-box lorry at Köpenicker Straße

At 6.30 on 16 August 1961 a driver loaded flower boxes in front of a florist's in Köpenicker Straße and drove back and forth to lull the guards. Then he drove straight over the crossing into West Berlin.

A wide cobbled street with parked cars running straight into a graffiti-covered Berlin Wall, with East Berlin buildings and a chimney behind it.
Köpenicker Straße in Kreuzberg ending at the Wall by Bethaniendamm in October 1986, near where the street's short-lived crossing point stood in August 1961 Photo: Roehrensee. Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

Early on 16 August 1961 a lorry stood in front of a florist's shop at Köpenicker Straße 41, close to the crossing point into Kreuzberg. Its driver drove into the yard, loaded flower boxes and told the guards he was making a delivery to Fritz-Heckert-Straße.

He drove to and fro several times, carrying the boxes out and back in again. Then, pretending once more to set off for Fritz-Heckert-Straße, he drove straight over the checkpoint towards West Berlin. The lorry got stuck with burst tyres in the West Berlin barriers. The driver jumped out and ran into a house on the western side.

The police later found that the lorry's regular driver had reported it stolen. He had parked it the evening before in Liebknechtstraße. When the police checked, they could not find either the owner of the clothing firm the lorry belonged to or the owner of the florist's shop.

Sources

  1. Stab PdVP Berlin – Journal der Handlung, 16 August 1961Chronik der Mauer (document: Landesarchiv Berlin, C Rep. 303/26.1/239)

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