Who was the East German soldier photographed escaping over the Berlin Wall in 1961?

Conrad Schumann was the East German soldier photographed escaping over the Berlin Wall in 1961.

On 15 August 1961, only days after construction began, Schumann was stationed near Bernauer Straße in East Berlin. As a temporary barbed-wire barrier was being reinforced, he jumped over the wire into West Berlin while carrying his weapon. West Berlin police had positioned a vehicle to help him after the jump.

Photographer Peter Leibing captured the moment in which Schumann leaped across the barrier. The image became one of the most recognizable photographs connected with the Berlin Wall and a lasting symbol of escape from East Germany. Schumann later lived in Bavaria and worked for Audi.

He was sometimes mistakenly identified as a civilian because the famous photograph shows only the jump. Schumann was actually a member of the East German border troops. His escape occurred before the later concrete wall system was fully built, when the border still included rapidly assembled wire obstacles.