24 September 1986 · Swimming · Kleinmachnow, Teltow and the Teltow Canal
Three young people swim the Teltow Canal
Shortly after 2 a.m. three young people used a wooden ladder to scale the barriers in Teltow and swam the 40-metre-wide Teltow Canal to Zehlendorf, helped by a guard's lost magazine.
Shortly after 2 a.m. on 24 September 1986 three young people from Teltow used a wooden ladder to climb the three-metre rear wall, the signal fence and a final three-metre wire-mesh fence.
They then swam across the roughly 40-metre-wide Teltow Canal to Berlin-Zehlendorf and arrived unhurt.
Border soldiers had in fact spotted them, but one guard slipped in the dark interior of a watchtower while climbing down and lost the magazine of his submachine gun. By the time it had been found, the three had disappeared.
Sources
Whose account is this? Drawn from press reports and historical research.
Press
Historians and memorials
- Gelungene Flucht über den Teltowkanal nach Berlin-Zehlendorf, 24. September 1986Chronik der Mauer
- Flucht aus der DDR: Durchs WasserDemokratiegeschichten
Facts checked against the sources: September 2026
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Cite this page
Berlin Experiences, “Three young people swim the Teltow Canal”, Berlin Wall Escapes, 2026, https://berlinwallescapes.com/escapes/three-youths-teltowkanal-1986/ (accessed [date]).
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