Jumping the Berlin Wall

Jumping the Berlin Wall

Mr. Kabe, who was in his mid-forties and on welfare, first came to the attention of the police when, with a running start from the West, he jumped the Wall in mid-Berlin, heading East. Right by the Wall he had discovered a lot where abandoned rubble formed a natural staircase. He could climb it so high that he had only to push himself up by the arms in order to swing onto the Wall. Other reports mention a Volkswagen bus, whose roof Kabe allegedly used for a springboard. It is more likely that he got that idea later, after the authorities had ordered a cleanup operation because of him.

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