Conrad Schumann was one of the first East Germans to successfully defect to the West, and probably the first one who became famous for it.
Schumann volunteered for East Germany's police forces in 1960, believing by doing so, he would serve his people. Then, in August 1961, he was ordered to Berlin to safeguard the building of the Berlin Wall - not something he had signed up for.
The construction of the Wall started on August 13, 1961. Two days later, on August 15, the area Schumann guarded was still not a wall but just a single coil of barbed wire, about two and a half feet high.
When police officers on the western side noticed that Schumann kept coming back to the same area, where he had pushed down the wire a few inches, they encouraged him, shouting, "Come over!"
In one courageous moment, Schumann jumped, dropped his gun and ran towards a West-Berlin police car, that quickly took him out of reach of any other border guards.
West German photographer Peter Leibing was at the scene and shot the best picture of his life, right when Schumann jumped the barbed wire.
The photo became one of the most iconic images of the Cold War and won many awards. A 15x25 ft copy of it is at the house next to the place where Schumann's famous "border Jump" took place.
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