26 April 1981 · Over the wall · Staaken
A young woman climbs the Wall at Spandau under fire
At 1.43 a.m. in the night of 25–26 April 1981 a young East Berlin woman climbed over the Wall at Spandau; guards in a watchtower fired at her and missed.
According to Stern (7 April 1982), in a US government translation kept in CREST, a young woman whose identity papers had been confiscated because, without work, she was considered an 'antisocial element' climbed over the Wall at Spandau at 1.43 a.m. in the night of 25–26 April of the previous year. When she was spotted, border guards in a watchtower opened fire on her; the shots missed. In mid-October she returned to the GDR through the Friedrichstraße station after the Stasi had promised her immunity from prosecution.
Sources
Whose account is this? Told from a press report only.
Press
- JPRS L/10524, East Europe Report, 18 May 1982: "Escape Attempt by Nephew of Intelligence Chief Recounted", translation of Joerg von Duehren and Dieter Bub, STERN No. 15, 7 Apr 1982, p. 228 (CIA-RDP82-00850R000500060037-0)CIA CREST (Internet Archive copy of the CIA reading room)
Known from a single report line: the source says no more than this page.
Facts checked against the sources: November 2026
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Cite this page
Berlin Experiences, “A young woman climbs the Wall at Spandau under fire”, Berlin Wall Escapes, 2026, https://berlinwallescapes.com/escapes/spandau-wall-1981-04-26/ (accessed [date]).
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