27 August 1965 – 28 August 1965 · Swimming · The Spree between Kreuzberg and Friedrichshain
A miner escapes through the Spree at Mühlenstraße
In the night of 27 to 28 August 1965 a 31-year-old miner made his way through ruined buildings in the border strip at Mühlenstraße, entered the Spree and escaped to West Berlin.
After 13 August 1961 people continued to flee through the Spree at Mühlenstraße; partly empty houses and ruins in the border strip offered hiding places and a way to reach the river unseen.
In the night of 27 to 28 August 1965 a 31-year-old miner escaped to West Berlin this way. According to the border troops' report reconstructing his route, he went from Mühlenstraße through the houses and ruins to the river, left his bag and identity card there and entered the water; he presumably swam to the other bank.
He left behind a bag and an identity document on the bank. The exhibition notes that how many people escaped this way at Mühlenstraße cannot be determined, while at least seven men died trying to cross the Spree in this area.
Sources
Whose account is this? Told from historical research only.
Historians and memorials
- Raus aus der DDR (Flucht im Bereich Mühlenstraße)East Side Gallery (Stiftung Berliner Mauer)
Facts checked against the sources: September 2026
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Cite this page
Berlin Experiences, “A miner escapes through the Spree at Mühlenstraße”, Berlin Wall Escapes, 2026, https://berlinwallescapes.com/escapes/miner-swims-spree-muehlenstrasse-1965/ (accessed [date]).
Related escapes
1 January 1963
Hans Räwel – New Year's morning in the icy Spree
After a New Year's Eve party, baker Hans Räwel, born 1941, swam into the freezing Spree and was shot at close range from a border boat about 35 metres from the western bank.
February 1963 – 1 April 1963
Wolf-Olaf Muszynski drowns in the Spree, presumably while trying to escape
A 16-year-old from Friedrichshain went missing in February 1963; on 1 April his body was found in the Spree on the West Berlin bank near the Oberbaumbrücke. Historians conclude he most likely drowned trying to escape, unseen by the border guards.
17 August 1961
Overboard from an excursion boat at the Schillingbrücke
On the morning of 17 August 1961 a man jumped from an East Berlin passenger boat near the Schillingbrücke and swam to the West Berlin bank.
5 October 1961
Udo Düllick – drowned under fire in the Spree
Railway worker Udo Düllick tried to swim the Spree at the Oberbaumbrücke around midnight; chased by gunfire, he drowned just short of the western bank.
