A drunk water-police boat commander heads for the Nedlitz crossing and is stopped
In the early morning of 27 October 1984 a boat commander of the Brandenburg water police, after a night at a friend's wedding and a row with his colleague, set off in his service boat WS 50 to break through the border at Nedlitz. Three other police boats stopped him about 2 km before the crossing.
The case is described in the Brandenburg Landeszentrale's 2004 study of escape attempts from the Bezirk Potsdam, which is based on Stasi files and uses pseudonyms. The boat commander had volunteered for three years in the NVA and then joined the Brandenburg water police, first as an engine man and later as a qualified boat commander. He began duty with a colleague at 18.30 on 26 October 1984; their task was to check West German and West Berlin transit shipping at the Gollwitz mooring.
Against orders he left his section and took the boat to the campsite opposite, where a friend's wedding was being celebrated. He came back on duty, considerably drunk, only at 23.30. His colleague reproached him and threatened to report him; he had already been warned that a further incident would cost him his post and his job in the police, and he decided on the spot to break through the border at Nedlitz with the boat. The colleague refused to have anything to do with it; he disarmed him, put him ashore on an island near Ketzin and headed on towards the Nedlitz crossing.
The crews of the water-police boats WS 26, WS 44 and WS 52 noticed his unusual route and were ordered to stop him. After some manoeuvres he gave up without resistance at 7.17 and was taken to the Stasi remand prison in Potsdam. On 12 February 1985 the Kreisgericht Potsdam-Stadt sentenced him to two years and six months for attempted illegal border crossing and unauthorised possession of a weapon. He was moved to Bautzen II on 5 March 1985 and released on probation on 28 May 1986.
Sources
Whose account is this? Told from historical research only.
Historians and memorials
- Hannelore Strehlow, Der gefährliche Weg in die Freiheit. Fluchtversuche aus dem ehemaligen Bezirk Potsdam (2004), 'Festnahme vom 27.10.1984 in der Nähe der GÜST Nedlitz', pp. 110–113Brandenburgische Landeszentrale für politische Bildung / BStU Außenstelle Potsdam
Facts checked against the sources: November 2026
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Berlin Experiences, “A drunk water-police boat commander heads for the Nedlitz crossing and is stopped”, Berlin Wall Escapes, 2026, https://berlinwallescapes.com/escapes/nedlitz-water-police-boat-ws50-1984/ (accessed [date]).
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