1 June 1962 · Over the wall · Kleinmachnow, Teltow and the Teltow Canal

Two girls try to help a friend escape at Lichterfelde-Süd

On 1 June 1962 a 16-year-old West Berlin girl was shot in the pelvis at the border in Lichterfelde-Süd while she and a 17-year-old friend were trying to help an acquaintance escape. The border guards arrested the friend.

At about 21.10 on 1 June 1962 two West Berlin girls, aged 16 and 17, were at the border at Lichterfelde-Süd, between the Ostpreußendamm and the Teltow Canal. They were trying to help an acquaintance get out of the GDR.

A border guard fired. The 16-year-old was hit in the pelvis and was taken to the Graf-Botho-Schwerin hospital. The border guards arrested her 17-year-old friend.

The West Berlin police report does not say what happened to the acquaintance they had tried to help.

Sources

Western official records

Facts checked against the sources: November 2026

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Cite this page

Berlin Experiences, “Two girls try to help a friend escape at Lichterfelde-Süd”, Berlin Wall Escapes, 2026, https://berlinwallescapes.com/escapes/lichterfelde-sued-helpers-shot-1962/ (accessed [date]).

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