Berlin Wall Escapes1961–1989

18 August 1961 · Guards who fled

Two policemen climb out of the Liesenstraße cemetery

At 17.45 on 18 August 1961 two Bereitschaftspolizei men on guard duty climbed from the Liesenstraße cemetery over the wall into Gartenstraße. A crowd and a film van from the West Berlin broadcaster SFB were waiting on the other side.

Snow-covered death strip seen over the top of the Wall, with a watchtower on the left, a red and cream S-Bahn train on a bridge and apartment blocks behind.
The border strip at the corner of Liesenstraße and Gartenstraße in January 1987, seen over the Wall from Wedding, with a watchtower and an S-Bahn train crossing Photo: Roehrensee. Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

The cemeteries on Liesenstraße lay directly on the sector boundary with the West Berlin district of Wedding, and their wall faced Gartenstraße.

At about 17.45 on 18 August 1961 Oberwachtmeister B., armed with a pistol, and Unterwachtmeister W., carrying a carbine, left their posts. Both belonged to the 2nd company, 1st section, of the Bereitschaftspolizei at Niederschönhausen. In the middle of their guard duty they climbed from the cemetery over the wall into Gartenstraße.

A large crowd had gathered on the West Berlin side. The East Berlin police noted that a film van from the West Berlin broadcaster SFB was there and had apparently filmed the desertion.

Sources

  1. Stab PdVP Berlin – Journal der Handlung, 18 August 1961Chronik der Mauer (document: Landesarchiv Berlin, C Rep. 303/26.1/239)
  2. Bericht Nr. 447/61, 18 August 1961 – Lage nach dem Bau der Berliner Mauer (2)Stasi-Unterlagen-Archiv (DDR im Blick)
  3. Einzel-Information Nr. 462/61, 20 August 1961 – Flucht von BereitschaftspolizistenStasi-Unterlagen-Archiv (DDR im Blick)

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