Berlin Wall Escapes1961–1989

23 August 1961 · Over the wall · Bernauer Straße

A painter runs from the doorway and jumps the Wall

Renovation work in the border houses carried on after 13 August; a painter working at Brunnenstraße 139 ran from the doorway and jumped the Wall four metres away.

A street with a double line of cobblestones set into the road where the Wall once ran
Cobblestones marking the line of the Wall across Brunnenstraße at Bernauer Straße (2018), close to No. 139 Photo: Andrzej Otrębski. Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

After the Wall was built, renovation work that had already begun in the border houses was at first allowed to continue.

A painter working in the house at Brunnenstraße 139, directly behind the Wall, took advantage of this.

Sunny street corner with a grass strip and path in front, low apartment buildings behind, and on the right a white gable wall labelled 'Bernauer Straße' with a large black-and-white mural and a row of photo panels.
The corner of Bernauer Straße and Brunnenstraße in 2022 Photo: Francesco Adami. Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

On 23 August 1961 he ran from the entrance of the house to the Wall, about four metres away, and jumped over it.

Sources

Historians and memorials

Facts checked against the sources: September 2026

Spotted an error, or know more about this story? Email us a correction or addition

Cite this page

Berlin Experiences, “A painter runs from the doorway and jumps the Wall”, Berlin Wall Escapes, 2026, https://berlinwallescapes.com/escapes/painter-brunnenstrasse-139-1961/ (accessed [date]).

Related escapes

  1. 6 September 1961

    Günter Tr. climbs the Wall with a company ladder

    An employee of the Murante firm in the border zone went to work as usual and then, with a woman smuggled in by a colleague, climbed the Wall on a company ladder; the colleague was arrested.

    Over the wall · Reached the West · Mitte

  2. 22 September 1961

    Truck driver Heinz K. over the glass-topped wall

    A driver for the Murante firm, which lay inside the border area, hid his truck between site huts and climbed a five-metre wall topped with broken glass.

    Over the wall · Reached the West · Mitte

  3. 22 November 1961

    Bernd Sp. leaves only his briefcase behind

    Unseen by the guards, Bernd Sp. came from the Kobold works, used a door propped against a yard wall and climbed the Wall; the briefcase he left behind, found the next morning, allowed the guards to reconstruct his escape and identity.

    Over the wall · Reached the West · Mitte

  4. 4 November 1961

    Günter A. climbs the Wall under machine-pistol fire

    While three guards stood together 40 metres from the Wall, Günter A. ran from the Kobold works to the Wall at Brunnenstraße; possibly hit by a burst of fire, he fell back, got up, climbed again and dropped into the West.

    Over the wall · Reached the West · Mitte