Berlin Wall Escapes1961–1989

23 August 1961 · Over the wall · Checkpoint Charlie

Over the wall from Zimmerstraße 85

At about 9.55 p.m. on 23 August 1961 a person came out of the house at Zimmerstraße 85 and got over the wall into West Berlin before the guard could stop them.

Black-and-white photo of a graffiti-covered wall running along a street, a pedestrian and cyclists on the western side, and behind the wall a second wall, a watchtower and East Berlin buildings.
The Wall along Zimmerstraße in 1988, seen from the corner of Wilhelmstraße; the East Berlin houses of Zimmerstraße stood behind it Photo: Fortepan / Urbán Tamás. Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

At about 9.55 p.m. on 23 August 1961, according to the East Berlin police journal, a person – the police could not say whether man or woman – got out of the house at Zimmerstraße 85 and over the wall into West Berlin. The person carried nothing, and the guard did not manage to stop the escape.

The Stasi report of 24 August recorded the same case: from the house at Zimmerstraße 85, at control point 38, another person broke through to West Berlin by getting over the wall. It was one of four breakthroughs from East Berlin that the report listed.

Sources

  1. Stab Präsidium der Volkspolizei Berlin, Abt. Information – Journal der Handlung, 23 August 1961Chronik der Mauer (document: Landesarchiv Berlin, C Rep. 303/26.1/239)
  2. Jahrgang 1961: Lage nach dem Bau der Berliner Mauer (7) – Bericht Nr. 477/61, 24. August 1961Stasi-Unterlagen-Archiv (DDR im Blick)

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Related escapes

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    Out of the corner pub and over the wall at Markgrafenstraße

    At about 1 p.m. on 30 August 1961 a man walked out of the pub on the corner of Zimmerstraße and Markgrafenstraße and climbed over the wall while the patrol was on the other side of the street.

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  2. 2 September 1961

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    At about 4 p.m. on 2 September 1961 a man of about 20 got over the barbed-wire obstacle and the stone wall at the corner of Markgrafenstraße and Zimmerstraße while the guard was not paying attention.

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  3. 23 August 1961

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    At 7.30 a.m. on 23 August 1961 a lorry driver born in 1940, who was bringing building material to a control point, left his cab and jumped over the barrier wall into West Berlin.

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  4. 23 August 1961

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