Under fire across the Teltow Canal at the Späthbrücke, a day after Roland Hoff
At 7.35 a.m. on 30 August 1961, less than a day after Roland Hoff was shot dead in the Teltow Canal, a guard at the Späthbrücke saw a man swimming the canal; despite warning shots and aimed fire he reached the western bank, probably wounded.
On the afternoon of 29 August 1961 border police shot Roland Hoff dead as he swam the Teltow Canal between Teltow and Lichterfelde. West Berlin papers called it 'the second refugee murder'.
The next morning, at about 7.35 a.m., the guard at the Späthbrücke on the Teltow Canal saw a person swimming the canal towards West Berlin. According to the Stasi situation report of 30 August, the guards fired several warning shots and then aimed shots, but the swimmer reached the western bank, presumably wounded.
The Chronik der Mauer records the same day that 'barely 24 hours after the fatal shots' another refugee swam the Teltow Canal; again the guards opened fire, but this time the escape succeeded. RIAS broadcast an interview with a woman who had witnessed a successful escape through the Teltow Canal that day.
The same Stasi report lists a gardener who crossed at about 6.40 a.m. from the water-authority site in Baumschulenweg on the Teltow Canal, which it found guarded neither by posts nor by barriers, and the driver of a pioneer crawler tractor who used his work in the 'Tanneberg' allotments in Johannisthal to escape at about 9.30 a.m.
Sources
Whose account is this? Drawn from GDR records and historical research.
GDR records
- Jahrgang 1961: Lage nach dem Bau der Berliner Mauer (14) – Bericht Nr. 500/61, 30. August 1961Stasi-Unterlagen-Archiv (DDR im Blick)
- Jahrgang 1961: Lage nach dem Bau der Berliner Mauer (13) – Bericht Nr. 496/61, 29. August 1961 (death of Roland Hoff)Stasi-Unterlagen-Archiv (DDR im Blick)
Historians and memorials
Facts checked against the sources: September 2026
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Cite this page
Berlin Experiences, “Under fire across the Teltow Canal at the Späthbrücke, a day after Roland Hoff”, Berlin Wall Escapes, 2026, https://berlinwallescapes.com/escapes/teltowkanal-spaethbruecke-swimmer-1961/ (accessed [date]).
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Two men at the Späthbrücke: one swims, one walks over the bridge
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