22 September 1961 · Window jumps · Bernauer Straße
Selma P. and her son Peter W. jump from the third floor
After warning relatives in the West, mother and son barricaded their door and waited for the fire brigade; both jumped into the net before the guards could break in.
Selma P. and her son Peter W. had lived on the third floor of Bernauer Straße 35 since the end of the war. After the Wall was built they decided to leave the GDR and told relatives in the West that they would escape in the night to 22 September.
Peter W. barricaded the door of the flat, and they waited for the fire brigade, which arrived at half past two in the morning. After throwing their household goods out of the window, Selma P. jumped into the jumping sheet, injuring her lumbar spine.
Neighbours had noticed the escape and alerted the guards, but before they could break into the flat Peter W. jumped too, suffering slight injuries.
Sources
Spotted an error, or know more about this story? Email us a correction or addition
Related escapes
19 September 1961
Erich B.'s family jumps from Bernauer Straße 42
A family of five from Swinemünder Straße 23 jumped from the first floor of the neighbouring house into a fire brigade net; the father broke his thigh.
19 September 1961
Heavily pregnant Helga Knittel jumps first
The Knittel family called the West Berlin fire brigade, then jumped one after another from their second-floor window into its net: first the heavily pregnant mother, then the daughter, then the father.
19 September 1961
Three generations jump into the net at Bernauer Straße 10
At about 11.30 p.m. Mrs K., her daughter-in-law and her grandson Detlef jumped from the second floor into a West Berlin fire brigade net.
22 September 1961
Family F. jumps under fire from the third floor
While a border policeman fired a warning shot and West Berlin police answered with tear gas, a mother jumped into the fire brigade's net; her husband threw down their five-year-old son and then jumped himself.