Berlin Wall Escapes1961–1989

30 August 1961 · Over the wall

A pioneer crawler driver uses his job in the Tanneberg allotments

At about 9.30 a.m. on 30 August 1961 the driver of a pioneer crawler tractor who was working in the 'Tanneberg' allotment colony in Johannisthal, on the Britzer Zweigkanal, used the job to cross into West Berlin.

A straight, still canal between banks of dense green trees under a blue summer sky, with an electricity pylon in the distance.
The Britzer Verbindungskanal (then Britzer Zweigkanal) at Baumschulenweg in 2008; the canal formed the sector border, with the Tanneberg allotments a little further along at Johannisthal Photo: André Karwath aka Aka. Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.5

According to the Stasi report of 30 August 1961, at about 9.30 a.m. the driver of a pioneer crawler took advantage of his work in the 'Tanneberg' allotment colony in Johannisthal, on the Teltow–Britz branch canal, to break through the border.

The same report lists two breakthroughs earlier that morning: a gardener who broke through from a water-authority site on the Teltow Canal in Baumschulenweg at 6.40 a.m., and a person who swam the Teltow Canal under fire at the Späthbrücke at 7.35 a.m.

Sources

  1. Jahrgang 1961: Lage nach dem Bau der Berliner Mauer (14) – Bericht Nr. 500/61, 30. August 1961Stasi-Unterlagen-Archiv (DDR im Blick)

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