After that a large network of tunnels was built. They were dug mostly by college students but many people used them. The first known successful tunnel was dug in a grave yard. People brought flowers to a grave, then they would drop out of sight and would never be seen on this side of wall again. The route worked well until a woman in one of the groups took her baby but left the baby’s carriage outside. Guards spotted the carriage sitting outside the tomb, became suspicious, and found the tunnel. They destroyed it with a demolition charge.
Tunnels were built all over town. As soon as one was discovered, another one was started. However, tunneling also created a new but contemptible enterprise. Some tunnel builders began to charge each escapee large sums of money, while others would agree to help people escape and then betray them to the East German police.

Escape by Water
Berlin’s canals and rivers were still open to navigation, and at first they provided a perfect escape route. One group of people, which included several people who could not how to swim, used inflated tubes to cross the Teltow Canal just two days after the border was closed. They made so much noise that it was believed that the guards had simply pretended not to see them. But the next day, searchlights and machine guns were installed at different points along the canal and its branches. And a motorboat, equipped with a searchlight, began to patrol the waters.

Through the Air
Escape by air was more common outside the city, in remote rural areas where people could fly into West Germany without attracting attention. In the early 1970’s, Barry Meeker, an American helicopter pilot, flew three missions into East Germany to bring refugees out. Flying at treetop level to avoid radar, he revved up his speed and roared past the guard towers along the border. He managed to get several people out before he was wounded on his third and final mission.

Through the Wall
In December 1961, a train engineer stowed his family and some of his friends on a train and drove it right through the last stop in East Berlin and onto the West. The East Germans then tore up the tracks near the border, closing off this escape route.
Other people used trickery to get through the Wall. An East Berlin woman brought flowers to the guards and then, as she handed the bouquet over, turned and bolted for the border.