12 October 1961 · Guards who fled
A policeman who fled in the night is searched for in a railway keeper’s house at Wilhelmsruh
At about 3 a.m. on 12 October 1961 ten East German Vopo men crossed into West Berlin at Wilhelmsruh S-Bahn station to search an inhabited railway keeper's house for a Vopo who had fled during the night; West Berlin police sent them back.
The West Berlin Schutzpolizei’s activity report for October 1961 records that at about 3 a.m. on 12 October ten Vopo men entered West Berlin territory at Wilhelmsruh S-Bahn station. They wanted to search the inhabited railway keeper’s house no. 8 for a Vopo who had fled during the night.
Tenants’ calls for help alerted West Berlin police, who firmly turned the Vopo back. The Vopo first claimed that the area belonged to the Soviet sector, then withdrew to where they had started.
The Chronik der Mauer’s chronicle for 12 October 1961 records that in the early morning armed GDR border police entered West Berlin territory in the district of Reinickendorf and surrounded a house on the border where they suspected a border policeman who had fled in the night. A West Berlin police radio patrol negotiated with them and got them to withdraw.
Sources
Whose account is this? Drawn from a Western official record and historical research.
Western official records
- Tätigkeitsbericht der West-Berliner Schutzpolizei für den Monat Oktober 1961 [Auszug]Chronik der Mauer (document: Polizeihistorische Sammlung des Polizeipräsidenten in Berlin)
Historians and memorials
- Chronik 1961, October (entry of 12 October 1961)Chronik der Mauer
Facts checked against the sources: October 2026
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Cite this page
Berlin Experiences, “A policeman who fled in the night is searched for in a railway keeper’s house at Wilhelmsruh”, Berlin Wall Escapes, 2026, https://berlinwallescapes.com/escapes/wilhelmsruh-bahnwaerterhaus-8-vopo-search-1961/ (accessed [date]).
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