1987
On 12 February 1987 Lutz Schmidt was shot dead at the Wall after helping a colleague onto it; the Stasi made his widow say he had died in a traffic accident.1 A deserting border officer later told RIAS that the order to shoot had been suspended for Erich Honecker's visit to the Federal Republic in 1987.2 Exit permits fell to 10,420 that year, and from 1 July GDR citizens travelling West could exchange only 15 DM instead of 70.34
Several 1987 records here are escapes by guards: Jens Bernhardt, who waited until his tower partner fell asleep and climbed the fence into Spandau in July, and a guard in camouflage who ran through the Spandau forest under fire on 6 July. On 15 July the 18-year-old Thomas K. flew a light aircraft from Potsdam to RAF Gatow on his second solo flight.4
Sources for this text
- Chronik 1987: FebruarChronik der Mauer
- Chronik 1988: AugustChronik der Mauer
- Chronik 1988: AprilChronik der Mauer
- Chronik 1987: JuliChronik der Mauer
Checked October 2026. Facts taken from an escape record on this site link to that record, which lists its own sources.
11 events: 7 successful escapes, 3 failed attempts and 1 fatal attempt. At least 10 people reached the West in these events.
12 February 1987
Lutz Schmidt shot helping his friend over the Wall
Truck drivers Lutz Schmidt and Peter Schulze drove to the border with ladders; Schmidt helped his colleague onto the Wall and was shot dead as he tried to follow.
May 1987
Thomas Mahler gives his passport to an East Berlin youth
In May 1987 Thomas Mahler, a law student from Wiesbaden visiting East Berlin with his scout group, gave his passport to a young East Berliner who looked like him. The youth got out; Mahler was arrested at the border when he tried to report his passport missing.
4 May 1987
Two men flee over the Wall into Lübars a day before their army call-up
On 4 May 1987 two East Germans aged 23 and 26, due to be inducted into the army the next day, climbed over the Wall into the rural Lübars area of West Berlin while shots were fired. Both arrived unhurt.
July 1987
Jens Bernhardt waits until his partner falls asleep and climbs the fence into Spandau
In July 1987 a young conscript border guard hid his sleeping tower partner's ammunition at 3 a.m., climbed down and pulled himself over the steel-mesh fence into Spandau with metal hooks. He later spoke publicly about how the shoot-to-kill order was applied.
6 July 1987
A border guard in camouflage runs through the Spandau forest under fire
On Monday 6 July 1987 an East German border guard in a camouflage suit ran through the Spandau forest in north-west Berlin and reached West Berlin, dodging about 30 rounds of gunfire.
15 July 1987
18-year-old flies a light aircraft from Potsdam to RAF Gatow
On only his second solo flight, 18-year-old Thomas K. took off in a single-engine plane south of Potsdam and landed at the British airfield in Gatow.
18 August 1987
Dogs, three shots and an arrest at the Sonnenallee crossing
Early on 18 August 1987 West Berlin police and customs officers at the Sonnenallee crossing heard dogs barking and three shots on the East Berlin side, then saw border guards lead away a man who had tried to escape. The three Western commandants protested the use of force.
25 September 1987
A couple's dump truck sticks in the barriers opposite Zehlendorf – and a friend films it
On the evening of 25 September 1987 a young woman and a man tried to break through the border opposite Zehlendorf with a truck. The attempt failed and East German border guards arrested them. A friend in West Berlin filmed it.
26 September 1987
Two men scale the Wall into Kreuzberg
On Saturday 26 September 1987 two East German men evaded the guards, scaled the Berlin Wall and entered West Berlin's Kreuzberg district.
3 December 1987
An 18-year-old climbs into Neukölln with a ladder and swims a canal
On the night of 3 December 1987 an 18-year-old East German dodged border patrols in the Treptow area, climbed the Wall with a ladder and swam a canal into Neukölln. He telephoned West Berlin police to report his escape.
9 December 1987
Wolga car on the Glienicke Bridge
Two men from Potsdam tried to ram a Wolga M 21 through the barriers on the Glienicke Bridge but were stopped at the very first gate.
