24 August 1973 · Hidden in vehicles
A teacher and her two children in a Ford boot at Drewitz
A West Berlin television technician working for the Jensch organisation was caught at Drewitz with a Friedrichshain teacher and her children, aged nine and six, in the boot of his Ford.
At about 10.15 p.m. on 24 August 1973 the GDR control at Drewitz arrested a West Berlin television technician, born in 1932, travelling on the transit route from West Germany into West Berlin. In the boot of his Ford were a teacher at the 15th secondary school in Berlin-Friedrichshain, born in 1944, and her children, aged nine and six.
According to the Stasi report he had been recruited by the escape organisation Jensch in August 1973 and had agreed to take several East Germans out for 1,000 DM a head. He and the mother were remanded in custody.
Sources
Whose account is this? Told from a GDR record only: documents of the GDR’s police, Stasi or border troops. No other account of the event is cited.
GDR records
- Information Nr. 870/73 über die Festnahme eines Einwohners von Berlin (West) wegen des Versuchs des staatsfeindlichen MenschenhandelsDDR im Blick (Stasi-Unterlagen-Archiv)
Facts checked against the sources: November 2026
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Cite this page
Berlin Experiences, “A teacher and her two children in a Ford boot at Drewitz”, Berlin Wall Escapes, 2026, https://berlinwallescapes.com/escapes/teacher-two-children-ford-boot-drewitz-1973/ (accessed [date]).
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