Harry Seidel
escape helper and tunnel builder
Named in 5 stories, 1962: 1 successful escape, 2 partly successful escapes and 2 failed attempts. At least 2 people reached the West in these events.
21 March 1962 – 27 March 1962
Heidelberger Straße Tunnel and the Death of Heinz Jercha
Dozens of East Berliners escaped through a tunnel under Heidelberger Straße until a Stasi informer betrayed it; escape helper Heinz Jercha was shot in an ambush and died after crawling back to the West.
9 June 1962 – 11 June 1962
The Whitsun Tunnel (Pfingsttunnel)
In June 1962 helpers around Harry Seidel dug from the cellar of a Neukölln corner pub under Heidelberger Straße and, over the Whitsun weekend, brought East Berliners out through a photographer's shop.
7 August 1962
The Betrayed Kiefholzstraße Tunnel
Several escape-helper groups joined forces on a tunnel to a small house on Kiefholzstraße for a planned mass escape, but a Stasi informer among the couriers betrayed it and dozens of would-be refugees were arrested.
6 October 1962
The Second Heidelberger Krug Tunnel to Elsenstraße
A second tunnel from the Heidelberger Krug pub brought a tailor couple to the West in their pyjamas, but an informer tipped off the Stasi within hours and an escape helper was shot and captured.
14 November 1962
The Kleinmachnow Tunnel and the Arrest of Harry Seidel
The betrayal of a 70-metre tunnel into Kleinmachnow ended with the capture of the famous escape helper Harry Seidel, who was sentenced to life imprisonment in a show trial.
Named alongside
- Fritz Wagner (3 stories)
- Boris Franzke (1 story)
- Eduard Franzke (1 story)
- Hasso Herschel (1 story)
- Joachim Rudolph (1 story)
- Ulrich Pfeifer (1 story)