24 September 1961 · Window jumps
Marianne S. flees as the eviction squads arrive
On the morning the forced evictions began, Marianne S. roped down from a window on a washing line and fell five metres; her disabled partner was left behind.
On the morning of 24 September 1961 the forced evacuation of the border houses on Bernauer Straße began. When the eviction squads arrived, Marianne S. decided on the spot to flee.
She let herself down from a window of Bernauer Straße 8 on a washing line but fell five metres to the pavement. West Berlin police brought her to safety.
Her boyfriend, who had a walking disability, stayed behind in the flat and was moved to Brunnenstraße the same day.
Sources
- Gedenkstätte Berliner Mauer – Bereich B: Die Zerstörung der Stadt (Orientierungsplan und Ereignismarken), marker B 370Stiftung Berliner Mauer
- B 370 – Digital Guide, Berlin Wall MemorialStiftung Berliner Mauer
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19 September 1961
Five escapees rope down from the roof of Bernauer Straße 43
Four men and a woman crossed the rooftops, tied a rope to a chimney and let themselves down to the western pavement; the woman fell from the third-floor level and was badly hurt, and another woman was caught in the attic.
27 September 1961
Anni M.'s rope tied round the sofa
Returning from holiday to find the border houses being cleared, Anni M. roped down the same evening with her valuables; guards found only a rope wound round the sofa.
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Rudolf Urban and his wife let themselves down on a rope from their first-floor flat; he was badly injured and died in hospital four weeks later.
22 August 1961
A pretend visitor jumps from Bernauer Straße 7
Claiming to be visiting someone, a young woman talked her way past the rear guard posts, then jumped from a first-floor window two hours later.