Berlin Wall Escapes1961–1989

20 August 1961 · Over the wall

A shot is fired at a man with a rucksack crossing the tracks near Wilhelmsruh

At 7.50 p.m. on 20 August 1961 a man with a rucksack broke through over the railway line about 300 m from Wilhelmsruh station into West Berlin; an aimed carbine shot was fired at him.

The Pankow police reported at 9.25 p.m. on 20 August 1961 that at 7.50 p.m. a man with a rucksack had broken through about 300 metres to the right of Wilhelmsruh station, between control points 7 and 8, over the railway line into West Berlin.

An aimed shot was fired at him with a carbine; it could not be established that he was hurt. The criminal police went to the scene. The Chronik der Mauer's chronicle for the day records that an 'aimed shot' was fired at a fleeing person at Wilhelmsruh S-Bahn station that evening.

Sources

  1. Stab. Präsidium der Volkspolizei Berlin - Abt. Information - Journal der Handlung, 20. August 1961Chronik der Mauer (document: Landesarchiv Berlin, C Rep. 303/26.1/239)
  2. Chronik 1961, AugustChronik der Mauer

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Related escapes

  1. 21 August 1961

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    On 21 August 1961 a fitter born in 1942, who was helping to put up a wire fence along the wall of VEB Bergmann-Borsig in Wilhelmsruh, left his brigade on a pretext and climbed over the wall with a ladder into West Berlin.

    Over the wall · Reached the West · Pankow (Wilhelmsruh) → Reinickendorf

  2. 22 August 1961

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    According to a Stasi report of 22 August 1961, three employees of the surveying office who were doing survey work near Wilhelmsruh S-Bahn station fled to the West, where a West Berlin customs vehicle picked them up.

    Over the wall · Reached the West · Pankow (Wilhelmsruh) → Reinickendorf

  3. 26 August 1961

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    On 26 August 1961 a family of five got past the Klemkestraße control point in Pankow by pottering about on an allotment plot until the guards stopped paying attention to them.

    Over the wall · Reached the West · Pankow → Reinickendorf

  4. 23 August 1961

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