6 February 1962 · Over the wall

Two men get through north-east of the Sonnenallee crossing

At 18.50 on 6 February 1962 two men escaped to West Berlin in Neukölln, about 250 m north-east of the Sonnenallee crossing. Nine submachine-gun bursts fired by the border guards missed them.

At 18.50 on 6 February 1962 two men escaped to West Berlin in Neukölln, about 250 metres north-east of the Sonnenallee border crossing.

Border guards fired nine bursts from their submachine guns, but missed. The West Berlin police report gives no names and does not say how the two crossed.

Sources

Historians and memorials

Facts checked against the sources: October 2026

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

Cite this page

Berlin Experiences, “Two men get through north-east of the Sonnenallee crossing”, Berlin Wall Escapes, 2026, https://berlinwallescapes.com/escapes/sonnenallee-northeast-two-men-1962/ (accessed [date]).

  1. 22 June 1962

    A fugitive collapses under fire at the Forsthausallee bridge

    At about 04.40 on 22 June 1962 a border guard fired a submachine-gun burst at a fleeing man at the Forsthausallee bridge. The man collapsed and about 15 minutes later was carried away in a tent sheet by the East Berlin fire brigade, apparently lifeless.

    Over the wall · Stopped · Treptow-Köpenick / Neukölln

  2. 19 November 1962

    He gets through, she is shot in the arm

    At 3.40 on 19 November 1962 border guards at Baumschulenweg fired about 30 shots at two people trying to escape. The man reached West Berlin unhurt. The woman, probably hit in the arm, was arrested.

    Over the wall · Some got through · Treptow-Köpenick

  3. 6 January 1962

    A man is caught ten metres short of the wire east of Timmendorfer Weg

    At 01.45 on 6 January 1962 a man of about 30 to 35 tried to escape from the Soviet sector east of Timmendorfer Weg in Rudow. Five border guards who noticed him fired submachine-gun bursts at him, and border guards arrested him about 10 m before the barbed wire.

    Over the wall · Stopped · Neukölln (Rudow) / Treptow-Köpenick

  4. 26 January 1962

    A young woman is shot at and arrested by the fence on Nennhauser Damm

    At about 08.30 on 26 January 1962 a woman of about 18 who was near the border fence on Nennhauser Damm in Staaken was arrested by a two-man border-police patrol. Before the arrest a border guard fired four or five submachine-gun shots at her; the West Berlin police thought she was probably hurt.

    Over the wall · Stopped · Spandau (Staaken)