Conrad Schumann
Encyclopedia
Hans Conrad Schumann was an East German soldier who famously defected to West Germany
during the construction of the Berlin Wall
in 1961.
, Saxony
, Schumann served as a soldier in the East German Bereitschaftspolizei
. After three months' training in Dresden
, he was posted to a non-commissioned officers' college in Potsdam
, after which he volunteered for service in Berlin
.
to guard the Berlin Wall on its third day of construction. At that time, the wall was only a low barbed wire
fence. From the other side, West Germans shouted to him, "Komm rüber!" ("Come over!"), and a police car pulled up to wait for him. Schumann jumped over the barbed wire fence and was promptly driven away from the scene by the West Berlin police. West German photographer Peter Leibing
photographed Schumann's escape, and this picture has since become an iconic image of the Cold War
era.
Schumann was later permitted to travel from West Berlin to the main territory of West Germany
, where he settled in Bavaria
. He met his wife Kunigunde in the town of Günzburg
.
. On 20 June 1998, suffering from depression, he committed suicide, hanging himself in his orchard near the town of Kipfenberg
in Oberbayern.
In May 2011, the photograph of Schumann's "leap into freedom" was inducted into the UNESCO Memory of the World programme as part of a collection of documents on the fall of the Berlin Wall..
A sculpture called Mauerspringer (Walljumper) by Florian and Michael Brauer and Edward Anders, can be seen close to the site of the defection (Bernauer Straße).
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
during the construction of the Berlin Wall
Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall was a barrier constructed by the German Democratic Republic starting on 13 August 1961, that completely cut off West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and from East Berlin...
in 1961.
Early life
Born in Leutewitz, now a part of RiesaRiesa
Riesa is a town in the district of Meißen in the Free State of Saxony, Germany. It is located at the river Elbe, approx. 40 km northwest of Dresden.The world's first 110 kV power line was inaugurated between Riesa and Lauchhammer in 1912....
, Saxony
Saxony
The Free State of Saxony is a landlocked state of Germany, contingent with Brandenburg, Saxony Anhalt, Thuringia, Bavaria, the Czech Republic and Poland. It is the tenth-largest German state in area, with of Germany's sixteen states....
, Schumann served as a soldier in the East German Bereitschaftspolizei
Bereitschaftspolizei
The Bereitschaftspolizei are the support and rapid reaction units of Germany's police forces...
. After three months' training in Dresden
Dresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
, he was posted to a non-commissioned officers' college in Potsdam
Potsdam
Potsdam is the capital city of the German federal state of Brandenburg and part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. It is situated on the River Havel, southwest of Berlin city centre....
, after which he volunteered for service in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
.
Defection to West Germany
On 15 August 1961, Schumann was sent to the corner of Ruppiner Straße and Bernauer StraßeBernauer Straße
Bernauer Straße is a street of Berlin situated between the localities of Gesundbrunnen and Mitte, today both belonging to the Mitte borough. It runs from the Mauerpark at the corner of Prenzlauer Berg to the Nordbahnhof...
to guard the Berlin Wall on its third day of construction. At that time, the wall was only a low barbed wire
Barbed wire
Barbed wire, also known as barb wire , is a type of fencing wire constructed with sharp edges or points arranged at intervals along the strand. It is used to construct inexpensive fences and is used atop walls surrounding secured property...
fence. From the other side, West Germans shouted to him, "Komm rüber!" ("Come over!"), and a police car pulled up to wait for him. Schumann jumped over the barbed wire fence and was promptly driven away from the scene by the West Berlin police. West German photographer Peter Leibing
Peter Leibing
Peter Leibing was a German photographer known for his 1961 photographs of escaping East German border guard, Conrad Schumann jumping a barbed wire fence during construction of the Berlin Wall.Leibing was born in Hamburg in 1941...
photographed Schumann's escape, and this picture has since become an iconic image of the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
era.
Schumann was later permitted to travel from West Berlin to the main territory of West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
, where he settled in Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
. He met his wife Kunigunde in the town of Günzburg
Günzburg
Günzburg is a Große Kreisstadt and capital of the district of Günzburg in Swabia, Bavaria. This district was constituted in 1972 by combining the city of Günzburg—which had not previously been assigned to a Kreis —with the district of Günzburg and the district of Krumbach.Günzburg lies...
.
Later life and death
After the fall of the Berlin Wall he said, "Only since 9 November 1989 [the date of the fall] have I felt truly free". Even so, he continued to feel more at home in Bavaria than in his birthplace, citing old frictions with his former colleagues, and was even hesitant to visit his parents and siblings in SaxonySaxony
The Free State of Saxony is a landlocked state of Germany, contingent with Brandenburg, Saxony Anhalt, Thuringia, Bavaria, the Czech Republic and Poland. It is the tenth-largest German state in area, with of Germany's sixteen states....
. On 20 June 1998, suffering from depression, he committed suicide, hanging himself in his orchard near the town of Kipfenberg
Kipfenberg
Kipfenberg is a municipality in the district of Eichstätt in Bavaria in Germany. It is known for its famous hillside castle and fortress, as well as being the geographical centre of Bavaria. The Altmuehl River flows through the market town....
in Oberbayern.
In May 2011, the photograph of Schumann's "leap into freedom" was inducted into the UNESCO Memory of the World programme as part of a collection of documents on the fall of the Berlin Wall..
A sculpture called Mauerspringer (Walljumper) by Florian and Michael Brauer and Edward Anders, can be seen close to the site of the defection (Bernauer Straße).