6 East Germans Reportedly Killed in Bizarre Attempt to Flee to West

Western diplomats were checking into reports Wednesday of what was described as the most bizarre and bloody escape attempt in the 25-year history of the Berlin Wall.

The incident, reported in several West German newspapers, was said to have involved the seizure of a subway train May 7 in East Berlin and an effort to switch it onto a track that would take it into West Berlin.

Twelve East German army reservists were said to have taken part in the attempt. Six of them were reportedly killed when the attempt was foiled, and the other six were reportedly executed after a court-martial.

First word of the incident in the West came from the Berlin West-East News Agency, which specializes in sensational reports from East Germany. The agency’s account, citing unspecified “intelligence sources,” has not been confirmed by any Western sources, and the official East German news agency ADN dismissed it as a “foul lie.”

“The best thing would be to send the fabricators of such a ‘thriller’ to a madhouse,” ADN added.

“We are looking into it,” a U.S. diplomat in East Berlin said. “But that was an extraordinary denial by the East Germans.”

Papers Report Station Fire

East German newspapers reported that on May 7, a fire occurred at the big Alexanderplatz station in East Berlin. The station and shops nearby were evacuated for several hours. The ADN reported that eight people had been injured in a fire on an empty subway train.

According to sources in West Berlin, it may have been a subway fire that gave rise to the West-East News Agency account, and it may have been an escape attempt.

Despite the division of Berlin between East and West, subway lines that served the old German capital are still in place. A West Berliner traveling underground from one part of his city to another may pass under part of East Berlin. But most of the East Berlin stations are closed and guarded, and those still operating have immigration controls.

According to the West-East agency report, the reservists planned to board an East Berlin train and at Alexanderplatz switch it to the West Berlin line. This presumably would have involved crashing through a steel barrier.

East German guards reportedly foiled the attempt by opening fire on the reservists, killing six, and then taking the others into custody.

The official East German news agency said that such an escape would be impossible, but added:

“All denials are superfluous. In this Wild West piece, executions and Colt gun shoot-outs in the style of Al Capone must also play their part.”