Is it true that this photo shows a real scene of the escape from East Berlin?

On the network, in the publications of life in divided Berlin, a picture is often used, which captures a woman who has just crossed the dividing line and the Westberlin police, holding back law enforcement officers from the GDR. We checked the correctness of such posts.

On November 9, 2024, Germany celebrated the 35th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin wall, which until 1989 divided the city into two parts. Fall They began to build In August 1961, in order to avoid further outflow of residents of the Communist GDR to West Berlin. First, the border guards placed a barbed wire on the border and organized a checkpoint, and in the next months the wall itself appeared. During this period, the inhabitants of the eastern part of the city tried to overcome the border in all possible ways: they jumped out of the windows of houses adjacent to the dividing strip, climbed over the thorny wire, erupted through the checkpoints. It is claimed that the picture dates back to this time. “In the old little -known photo - a girl who fell to his knees. She just managed to run around the border between the eastern and western Berlin. Another second, and she would probably be shot ... But she managed. Soldiers on both sides poke with machine guns. There is just a drawn feature between them ” - Described This photograph in 2014 in his post on Facebook Russian journalist and human rights activist Eva Merkacheva. In 2024 fast Blogger Andrei Smetanenko with this photo and a similar description in X watched 340,000 people, more than 500 users shared them. This photo is also represented as real users Livejournal And "VKontakte".

From August to December 1961, while trying to escape to the West, 12 Berliners were killed. In total during the existence of the wall of such was 101, most were shot. Another 31 people were killed, although he did not plan to illegally cross the wall, and eight border guards of the GDR died in the performance of official duties. The total number of victims caused by the existence of the wall is still unknown - according to German historians, it exceeds several hundred people.

Google's reverse search in the image leads to the original source - a picture from the photo base of the Getty Images agency. IN Description It is indicated that this is a frame from the film "Eastern zone, Western zone"Director Pierrot Vivarelli, shot in 1962.

The original name of the film is “Today in Berlin"(Oggi a Berlino). A girl on his knees is an actress Nana Osten, performer of the main female role. In the Getty Images database, you can find other frames of this episode: on One of the photo The heroine Osten hugs her lover Hans (he was played by Helmut Grim), who had just fled from Eastern Berlin.

The film was shot next year after the start of the construction of the Berlin wall. In general, it reflects real events: the flight of the residents of the GDR to the West, the cruelty of East German police officers, the construction of a barrier that divided the city. However, this is a work of art, not documentary personnel. Therefore, it is impossible to say that this is a photograph of a real escape from East Berlin. In addition, the frame itself is pulled out of context. According to the plot of the film, Hans runs across the border, and his girlfriend Rita lives in West Berlin. Hans is killed by shots in the back, and Rita is on his knees, mourning her lover. From the signature to the picture in the Getty Images database, it follows that, according to the plot, West German police at that moment do not allow employees of law enforcement agencies to take the body.

Photo on the cover: social networks / getty images

Not true

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