18 October 1961 · Window jumps · Bernauer Straße
Bricklayer Norbert Raasch jumps while walling up windows
Sent to brick up the windows of Bernauer Straße 44 under guard, construction worker Norbert Raasch, whose fiancée lived in the West, jumped from a first-floor window in an unguarded moment.
On 18 October 1961 construction workers under guard were bricking up the windows of Bernauer Straße 44. One of them, Norbert Raasch, had a fiancée living in West Berlin.
In an unguarded moment he jumped from a first-floor window onto the pavement on the western side. His foreman had suspected he meant to escape but did not tell the border guards. The escape was only noticed when Raasch could not be found at the end of the working day.
The foreman was taken to the police headquarters at Alexanderplatz and questioned all night, but released the next morning without further punishment.
Sources
Whose account is this? Drawn from press reports and historical research.
Press
Historians and memorials
- Gedenkstätte Berliner Mauer, Bereich D: Ereignismarken (D 433)Stiftung Berliner Mauer
Facts checked against the sources: October 2026
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Cite this page
Berlin Experiences, “Bricklayer Norbert Raasch jumps while walling up windows”, Berlin Wall Escapes, 2026, https://berlinwallescapes.com/escapes/norbert-raasch-bernauer-strasse-44/ (accessed [date]).
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