How people got across

Each method changed as the border changed. Tunnels and window jumps belong to the early years; ziplines, balloons and microlights came later, once the ground itself was sealed.

• Tunnels

  Dug by hand beneath the border strip, often from West Berlin cellars, and often betrayed before they were finished.

  24 stories, 1961–1982

• Window jumps

  In 1961 the house fronts on Bernauer Straße were the border itself. Residents climbed down or jumped to the West Berlin pavement.

  45 stories, 1961–1965

• Over the wall

  Ladders, ropes and sprints across the death strip, with the constant risk of being shot.

  87 stories, 1961–1989

• Ziplines and cables

  Sliding or climbing hand over hand along a line stretched above the border strip.

  3 stories, 1962–1983

• Aircraft and balloons

  Homemade balloons and microlight aircraft flown over the Wall.

  5 stories, 1970–1989

• Driving through

  Cars, lorries, buses and even an armoured vehicle driven at, through or under the barriers.

  23 stories, 1961–1989

• By train

  Rail lines that crossed the border before they were cut.

  8 stories, 1961–1989

• Hidden in vehicles

  Hidden compartments in cars and lorries, driven through the checkpoints by escape helpers.

  8 stories, 1964–1975

• False papers and disguises

  Borrowed passports, forged papers and uniforms used to walk out through the official crossings.

  6 stories, 1961–1977

• Guards who fled

  Soldiers and police sent to guard the border who crossed it themselves.

  26 stories, 1961–1980

• Swimming

  The Spree, the Teltow Canal, the Havel and Berlin's lakes, crossed by swimmers.

  27 stories, 1961–1986

• By boat

  Stolen boats, excursion ships, canoes and inflatable dinghies.

  5 stories, 1962–1985