4 January 1965 · Over the wall
Rope-ladder escape at Ruppiner Straße
Equipped with wire cutters, a rope ladder and a throwing line, a man of about 25 got over the Wall near Ruppiner Straße despite gunfire; stray bullets hit a West Berlin bedroom.
At about 5 a.m. on 4 January 1965 a man of about 25, carrying wire cutters, a rope ladder and a throwing line, got into the border area near Ruppiner Straße without being seen.
The guards only noticed him when he set off an alarm at the signal fence. They opened fire but missed, because he took cover behind a sight screen. He was then able to climb over the Wall into West Berlin unhurt.
Several bullets struck buildings on the West Berlin side, including the bedroom of a woman who was asleep in her bed at the time.
Sources
Spotted an error, or know more about this story? Email us a correction or addition
Related escapes
10 November 1965 – 11 November 1965
Heinz Cyrus – hunted into Gartenstraße 85
Chased from the border strip by gunfire, Heinz Cyrus fled into a building on Gartenstraße, climbed out of a fourth-floor window and fell into the courtyard; he died the next morning.
15 January 1966
Gerd L. turns back under warning shots and hides at Brunnenstraße 141
A local resident reached the border strip, then under construction; warning shots turned him back and he was arrested on the top floor of Brunnenstraße 141.
28 January 1966
80 shots at Manfred B.
After a marital row, Manfred B. climbed two fences; the Kremmener Straße sentries fired 80 rounds and arrested him. West Berlin answered with a poster addressed to the soldiers.
7 September 1966
Klaus N. escapes his pursuers but is arrested in Brunnenstraße
Fired on after climbing the rear fence at Schönholzer Straße, Klaus N. hid behind the tank traps, slipped back to East Berlin, and was arrested by an off-duty policeman who had watched.