2 June 1984 · Driving through · Staaken

Trabant against the Staaken barrier

A 38-year-old driver tried to force his Trabant through the Staaken crossing but crashed into a heavy barrier at the passport control line.

A tall orange stele and three smaller information panels on a paved area, with a supermarket behind.
Information stele at the site of the former Staaken (Heerstraße) border crossing (photographed 2013) Photo: Assenmacher. Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

Shortly after midnight on 2 June 1984 a 38-year-old professional driver from Schönwalde, in the Nauen district near Potsdam, drove his Trabant into the Staaken crossing at about 70 km/h.

The alarm went off as soon as he entered. At the passport control line the car hit a crash barrier of the 'Heinrich-Heine-Straße' type and came to a stop.

The driver was badly injured and arrested.

Sources

Facts checked against the sources: September 2026

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Cite this page

Berlin Experiences, “Trabant against the Staaken barrier”, Berlin Wall Escapes, 2026, https://berlinwallescapes.com/escapes/trabant-staaken-1984/ (accessed [date]).

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