1989
On 18 January 1989 Erich Honecker said the Wall would still be standing "in 50 and in 100 years" if the reasons for it had not been removed (translated).1 On 5 February Chris Gueffroy was shot dead at the Britzer Zweigkanal, the last refugee killed by gunfire at the Wall; on 8 March Winfried Freudenberg died when his home-made balloon came down in Zehlendorf.234 Honecker then had the order to shoot quietly withdrawn: on 3 April the border troops were told no longer to use firearms to prevent breakthroughs, and Erich Mielke announced the change to the Stasi on 28 April.35 Five days after the order, a passport controller fired a warning shot at two young men who jumped the barrier at Chausseestraße; both were arrested, and Western journalists who had been told in advance photographed the attempt.35
A Stasi report of March 1989 lists what the 11,504 members of the Grenzkommando Mitte were guarding: 156.4 kilometres of border, with 41.9 kilometres of Grenzmauer 75, 59 kilometres of older slab wall, 68.4 kilometres of expanded-metal fence as the front barrier, 113.9 kilometres of signal fence and 186 watchtowers.6
Many of the records here from March onwards are attempts to break through with vehicles, several of them at checkpoints: a Citroën at Stolpe in May, a Škoda at Mahlow in June, a ZIL truck that overturned at Stolpe in August. Hungary opened its border to Austria for GDR citizens in the night of 10 to 11 September, and on 9 November Günter Schabowski announced the new travel rule; asked when it took effect, he answered "Ab sofort, unverzüglich!" ("At once, without delay!", translated).78
Sources for this text
- Chronik 1989: JanuarChronik der Mauer
- Chronik 1989: FebruarChronik der Mauer
- "Grenzverletzer sind festzunehmen oder zu vernichten" (Hans-Hermann Hertle)Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung
- Chronik 1989: MärzChronik der Mauer
- Chronik 1989: AprilChronik der Mauer
- Grenzsicherung in Berlin: Auskunftsbericht zum Grenzkommando-Mitte (GK-Mitte) und der Staatsgrenze der DDR zu Westberlin, März 1989Chronik der Mauer
- Chronik 1989: SeptemberChronik der Mauer
- Chronik 1989: NovemberChronik der Mauer
Checked October 2026. Facts taken from an escape record on this site link to that record, which lists its own sources.
20 events: 5 successful escapes, 1 partly successful escape, 11 failed attempts and 3 fatal attempts. At least 8 people reached the West in these events.
January 1989
A farmer climbs the Wall into Lichtenrade with a ladder under fire
In an escape reported on 6 January 1989, a 34-year-old farmer from the GDR used a ladder to get over the border installations at Tutzinger Straße in Lichtenrade; by his own account he was shot at three times.
13 January 1989
Ingolf Diederichs dies jumping from an S-Bahn at Bösebrücke
The 24-year-old climbed out of a moving S-Bahn train with a home-made folding ladder near the Bornholmer Straße crossing, got caught on the train and was killed.
24 January 1989
Thomas Drescher and his friend caught at the Wall in Glienicke
On the night of 24 January 1989 the carpenter Thomas Drescher and his friend Dirk set a ladder against the Wall at Glienicke/Nordbahn and climbed, but a dog barked, a searchlight caught them and three armed border guards surrounded them. He was sentenced to 15 months and ransomed by West Germany in October 1989.
26 January 1989
A bricklayer scrambles over the Wall from Pankow to Wedding – seen, but not shot at
Early on 26 January 1989 a 23-year-old East German bricklayer scrambled over the Wall from Pankow into Wedding. Border guards saw him but did not open fire.
5 February 1989
Chris Gueffroy, the last escaper shot dead at the Wall
Chris Gueffroy, 20, and his friend Christian Gaudian tried to climb the border fences at the Britzer Zweigkanal, believing the order to shoot had been lifted; Gueffroy was shot through the heart and Gaudian was wounded and arrested.
14 February 1989
Martin Notev is dragged back out of the Spree at the West Berlin bank
Martin Notev and two young neighbours smashed through the barriers with a truck and jumped into the Spree near the Reichstag. The neighbours escaped; Notev was pulled back by the hair from the West Berlin quay wall by a GDR patrol boat crew.
8 March 1989
Winfried Freudenberg's fatal gas balloon flight
The last refugee to die at the Berlin Wall, as the Chronik der Mauer counts it: Winfried Freudenberg crossed into West Berlin in a home-made natural-gas balloon but was killed when it came down in Zehlendorf.
10 March 1989
Tipper truck and ladder in Staaken
Three men tried to flatten the border fences in Staaken with a tipper truck and climb the Wall with a ladder, but the truck stuck in the second fence and one of them was shot.
31 March 1989
Three men break through the first control point at Drewitz
Late on 31 March 1989 a car with GDR plates and three men aboard broke through the first control point at Drewitz and hit a barrier; the three were led away. Travellers reported shots, which the GDR denied.
8 April 1989
Jan-Michael G.'s truck is caught in a cable barrier
On 8 April 1989 a heavy truck broke through both service gates at Ruppiner Straße but was stopped by a cable barrier designed to catch lorries.
8 April 1989
Over the barrier at Chausseestraße in front of western cameras
Two young East Berliners jumped over the barrier at the Chausseestraße crossing; a passport controller fired a shot (a warning shot, according to the Stasi files) and both were arrested, while western journalists who had been tipped off recorded the attempt.
26 April 1989
Stolen truck stuck in the death strip at Glienicke
A 21-year-old steelworker broke through the inner wall with a stolen truck but got stuck in the sand of the death strip after hitting a lamp post.
9 May 1989
Citroën at the Stolpe crossing
A 27-year-old fitter drove a Citroën through the first barrier at Stolpe at 80 km/h, losing the car's roof, before crashing into the base of a second barrier.
26 May 1989
Ultralight flight from Treptower Park to the Reichstag
Two brothers who had already fled flew ultralight aircraft from West Berlin to Treptower Park at dawn; one landed to pick up their brother Egbert, and both aircraft came down in front of the Reichstag.
29 June 1989
Škoda through three barriers at Mahlow
A 27-year-old electrician approached the Mahlow crossing at walking pace, then accelerated through three barriers before crashing into a heavy crash barrier.
5 July 1989
Guards order a 24-year-old to halt but hold their fire as he scales the Wall
On Wednesday 5 July 1989 East German border guards ordered a 24-year-old man to halt as he scaled the Berlin Wall, but did not fire when he defied them; he reached the West.
8 August 1989
Trabant caught by a steel cable at Drewitz
On 8 August 1989 a 33-year-old man from Belzig drove his Trabant into the Drewitz crossing, where a steel cable barrier stopped him.
15 August 1989
ZIL truck overturned at Stolpe
A 28-year-old man drove a ZIL-131 truck through several gates at the Stolpe crossing until it overturned against another barrier.
18 August 1989
Hans-Peter and Peggy Spitzner in an American's car boot through Checkpoint Charlie
In August 1989 a teacher from Chemnitz and his seven-year-old daughter crossed Checkpoint Charlie hidden in the car boot of a young American, Eric Yaw. A Saxon memorial foundation calls them the last known Wall refugees.
7 October 1989
Gabriela M. tries to escape while East Berlin demonstrates
While thousands demonstrated in East Berlin on 7 October 1989, a young woman from Eberswalde tried to escape at Brunnenstraße and was arrested just before midnight.
