Bernd Sp. fled in the evening or night of November 22, 1961, unnoticed by the border guards. He approached the border from the grounds of the Kobold factory and reached the backyard of Brunnenstraße 139. With the help of a door that was slanted ajar, he was able to get over the backyard property wall and found himself standing right behind the border wall. From there he was able to climb over to the West unnoticed, but he left his briefcase behind. The border guards found it the next morning and together with the East German police were able to reconstruct the escape route and identity of the man who had fled.