A West Berliner cutting the wire for his wife is fired on near Rosenthal cemetery
At about 21.35 on 19 July 1962 a West Berliner tried to cut through the barbed wire near the Städtischer Friedhof Rosenthal so that his wife, who lived in East Berlin, could escape. Border guards fired about 30 submachine-gun rounds; he got away unhurt.
At about 21.35 on 19 July 1962 a West Berliner tried to cut through the barbed-wire barriers in Wittenau, near the Städtischer Friedhof Rosenthal, so that his wife, who lived in the Soviet sector, could escape. Border guards spotted him and fired about 30 rounds from submachine guns. He got to safety unhurt.
When West Berlin police officers searched the area afterwards, border guards fired eight shots at them at about 22.20, and the officers fired six back. According to the report nobody on the western side was hurt and, as far as could be seen, no border guard either.
Sources
Whose account is this? Told from historical research only.
Historians and memorials
- Bericht der West-Berliner Schutzpolizei über die Lage an der Sektor- und Zonengrenze sowie auf S- und Reichsbahngelände für den Monat Juli 1962 [Auszug]Chronik der Mauer (document: Polizeihistorische Sammlung des Polizeipräsidenten in Berlin)
Facts checked against the sources: October 2026
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Berlin Experiences, “A West Berliner cutting the wire for his wife is fired on near Rosenthal cemetery”, Berlin Wall Escapes, 2026, https://berlinwallescapes.com/escapes/rosenthal-cemetery-husband-cuts-wire-1962/ (accessed [date]).
Related escapes
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Dorit Schmiel – five friends crawl towards Reinickendorf
Five young East Berliners cut through the fence in Rosenthal after midnight and crawled across the snowy border strip; guards opened fire without warning, killing 20-year-old seamstress Dorit Schmiel and wounding a 16-year-old.
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1 June 1962
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12 June 1964
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