Kiefholzstraße Tunnel

In the early 1960s, several escape tunnels were dug along the Neukölln-Treptow border near Kiefholzstraße, where favourable soil conditions and the configuration of the border aided tunnel construction. An estimated 35 to 59 people escaped through one tunnel here before a Stasi informant betrayed the route, leading to the arrest of 89 people.

The border between Neukölln in the West and Treptow in the East followed a winding path through residential streets and along waterways, creating stretches where the death strip was relatively narrow and the terrain suited underground work. The area around Kiefholzstraße and Puderstraße was particularly favoured by tunnel builders because the sandy soil was easy to dig through and the border geometry allowed for shorter tunnels.

One tunnel in this area was remarkably successful, with an estimated 35 to 59 people escaping to the West through it. But the Stasi eventually infiltrated the operation, planting an informant who worked as a courier for the escape network. When the betrayal came, it was devastating: East German authorities arrested 37 people who were waiting at the tunnel entrance to escape, and subsequent interrogations led to 52 further arrests.

A memorial plaque on Kiefholzstraße commemorates the victims of the Berlin Wall in this area – a reminder that the border here was not just a political line on a map but a deadly barrier that tore apart a neighbourhood.

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