28 November 1961 · Over the wall

Three young people are seized trying to scale the Wall at Potsdamer Platz

East German guards seized three young would-be refugees as they tried to scale the Wall across Potsdamer Platz.

A CIA chronology of reports on the Berlin situation records under 28 November 1961, in an item based on a West Berlin police report, that East German guards seized three young would-be refugees as they sought to scale the Wall across Potsdamer Platz.

Sources

Known from a single report line: the source says no more than this page.

Facts checked against the sources: November 2026

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

Cite this page

Berlin Experiences, “Three young people are seized trying to scale the Wall at Potsdamer Platz”, Berlin Wall Escapes, 2026, https://berlinwallescapes.com/escapes/potsdamer-platz-wall-1961-11-28/ (accessed [date]).

  1. 13 August 1961

    Wire cutters at the Ebertstraße fence on the first day

    On the Sunday the border was sealed, a crowd of East Berliners at the new fence in Ebertstraße cut through the wire when the guards were not looking. Some ran across to West Berlin before the fence was closed again.

    Over the wall · Some got through · Mitte

  2. 23 August 1961

    Sent to put flower bowls on the Wall

    At 11.05 on 23 August 1961 a 30-year-old worker who was supposed to set up flower bowls on the barrier wall at the Brandenburg Gate escaped to the West, hidden from view by a lorry.

    Over the wall · Reached the West · Mitte

  3. 23 August 1961

    Over the wall from Zimmerstraße 85

    At about 9.55 p.m. on 23 August 1961 a person came out of the house at Zimmerstraße 85 and got over the wall into West Berlin before the guard could stop them.

    Over the wall · Reached the West · Mitte → Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg

  4. 16 August 1961

    Four men are caught on the timber yard in Wildenbruchstraße

    On 16 August 1961 riot police caught four men born in 1943 and 1944, from Oberschöneweide, Kaulsdorf and Mahlsdorf, as they tried to get into West Berlin over the timber yard in Wildenbruchstraße, Treptow.

    Over the wall · Stopped · Treptow-Köpenick (Alt-Treptow) → Neukölln