10 March 1989 · Driving through · Staaken
Tipper truck and ladder in Staaken
Three men tried to flatten the border fences in Staaken with a tipper truck and climb the Wall with a ladder, but the truck stuck in the second fence and one of them was shot.
On 10 March 1989 a 27-year-old student from Falkensee and two companions planned to use a tipper truck to flatten two border fences in Staaken, drive up to the Wall and climb it with a ladder carried on the truck bed.
The truck broke through the first fence but got stuck in the second. The men came under fire, and one of them was hit in both thighs.
On 25 May 1989 the Potsdam district court sentenced them to three years and eight months in prison. The appeal was rejected by the Potsdam regional court on 4 July 1989.
Sources
Whose account is this? Drawn from press reports and historical research.
Press
- Honecker-Offerte und Mauerschüsse (taz, 13 Mar 1989)taz
- 3 East Germans fail in escape attempt (11 March 1989)Deseret News (wire report)
Historians and memorials
- Gescheiterte LKW-Flucht in Staaken, 10. März 1989Chronik der Mauer
Facts checked against the sources: September 2026
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Cite this page
Berlin Experiences, “Tipper truck and ladder in Staaken”, Berlin Wall Escapes, 2026, https://berlinwallescapes.com/escapes/tipper-truck-staaken-1989/ (accessed [date]).
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