17 August 1961 · Driving through · Bernauer Straße
Three young men crash a truck through the new barrier at Ruppiner Straße
Late on 17 August 1961 three young men drove a truck through the border barrier at Ruppiner Straße; the guards fired, but no one was hurt.
Late in the evening of 17 August 1961 three young men escaped at Ruppiner Straße by driving a truck through the border barrier. The memorial describes it as the wall that had only just been completed there; the East Berlin police journal says the tipper lorry drove over the lawns and straight over the barbed wire.
The guards opened fire at once but did not hit them. According to the memorial, it was the fourth time since 13 August that shots had been fired at escapees in Berlin.
Several submachine-gun bullets struck the West Berlin side, one of them in a resident's bedroom.
Sources
Whose account is this? Drawn from a GDR record and historical research.
GDR records
- Stab. Präsidium der Volkspolizei Berlin – Abt. Information – Journal der Handlung, 17. August 1961Chronik der Mauer (document: Landesarchiv Berlin, C Rep. 303/26.1/239)
Historians and memorials
- Gedenkstätte Berliner Mauer – Bereich D: Alltag an der Mauer (Orientierungsplan und Ereignismarken), marker D 423Stiftung Berliner Mauer
- D 423 – Digital Guide, Berlin Wall MemorialStiftung Berliner Mauer
Facts checked against the sources: September 2026
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Cite this page
Berlin Experiences, “Three young men crash a truck through the new barrier at Ruppiner Straße”, Berlin Wall Escapes, 2026, https://berlinwallescapes.com/escapes/ruppiner-strasse-truck-breakthrough-1961/ (accessed [date]).
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