In 1963, Heinz Meixner Orchestrated a Daring Escape From East Berlin to Smuggle His Fiancée and Her Mother

Berlin Wall was erected in 1961 to divide east and west Berlin and, more precisely, to prevent people from East Berlin (the Soviet-held area) from escaping to West Berlin (governed by the Allied Forces). It went down in 1989, marking the end of the Cold War.

Checkpoint Charlie (aka Checkpoint C) is the most famous border-crossing point, designated for diplomats, foreigners, and members of the Allied Forces (1961-1990). The West Berlin part of the checkpoint – with Adler Cafe right next to it – consisted of a minimalist guard house and a sandbag barrier, which looked oddly unimpressive compared to the Eastern part’s infrastructure.

The infamous Checkpoint Charlie in 1961.

In 1963, Heinz Meixner, an Austrian lathe operator, orchestrated a daring escape from East Berlin to smuggle his fiancée, Margarete Thurau, and her mother to the West. Their story is one of the most famous escapes involving Checkpoint Charlie.

Meixner had fallen in love with Thurau while working in East Berlin, but she was denied permission to emigrate. To bypass the Berlin Wall, Meixner devised a plan to drive under the border barriers rather than through them.

While crossing the border on a motor scooter, Meixner feigned engine trouble to secretly measure the height of the steel barrier at Checkpoint Charlie, finding it was 37.5 inches (95 cm) high. He searched for a car low enough to fit and settled on a red Austin-Healey Sprite. To ensure clearance, he removed the windshield and let air out of the tires, bringing the car’s height down to about 35.5 inches (90 cm).

Shortly after midnight on May 5, 1963, the trio made their attempt. Margarete huddled in the small space behind the driver’s seat. Her mother was placed in the trunk, protected by 30 bricks Meixner had packed around her to stop potential bullets from border guards.

Meixner drove to the East German side and handed over his passport. When the guard directed him toward a customs shed for inspection, he instead slammed on the accelerator. He ducked his head as the car zipped under the steel barrier. He cleared the bar with only about an inch to spare, reaching the American sector of West Berlin so fast that he left 96-foot skid marks when he finally braked.

The escape was successful, and the story became a sensation, later documented in the Mauermuseum (Museum Haus am Checkpoint Charlie). In response to this specific “under-the-barrier” tactic, East German authorities soon added vertical steel bars beneath the horizontal checkpoint beams to prevent future attempts.