23 August 1961 · Guards who fled
Two guards use a piece of fence as a ladder
Just after midnight on 23 August 1961 two Bereitschaftspolizei men posted in the courtyard of Kremmener Straße 5 leaned a piece of fence against the wall and climbed over to West Berlin with their weapons.
Helmut K., born in Königsberg in 1941, and Manfred P., also born in 1941, belonged to a Bereitschaftspolizei unit from Potsdam. On the night of 22 to 23 August 1961 they were posted together, from 23.00 to 3.00, at Kremmener Straße 5, a building on the border with Wedding.
Between 0.05 and 0.10 on 23 August they left their post in the second courtyard. They propped a piece of fence against the wall as a ladder and climbed over into West Berlin.
K. took a submachine gun with 40 rounds and a gas mask. P. took a carbine with 20 rounds. The police noted that K. had a sister in Hannover.
Sources
- Stab PdVP Berlin – Journal der Handlung, 23 August 1961Chronik der Mauer (document: Landesarchiv Berlin, C Rep. 303/26.1/239)
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