Boris Franzke (born in 1937) was one of the most active escape tunnel builders in Berlin during the early 1960s. He was involved in the construction of no fewer than seven escape tunnels — though in the end, only one of them was successful. In a lecture followed by a discussion, he talks about his time as an escape helper. Despite the failure of many of his tunnel projects, Boris Franzke never lost hope or motivation. On the contrary, he continued digging with persistence, driven above all by the desire to help family and friends reach freedom in West Berlin. Because of this extraordinary commitment, Boris Franzke and his brother Eduard rightly became known in history as the “Franzke Brothers” of the Berlin escape tunnels.
In 1962, a dramatic situation unfolded: Boris Franzke nearly lost his life during a tunnel project that he and like-minded friends were digging from a property in West Berlin’s Zehlendorf district toward Kleinmachnow in Brandenburg. The Stasi (Ministry for State Security) had already learned about the escape attempt and had placed explosives along the tunnel route. But, in an unexpected twist, it was the Stasi’s own demolition expert who prevented the execution of this insidious and devious plan. To this day, Boris Franzke tells the story of this Stasi officer whose actions saved his life — and the lives of several others.
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Additional information
Dates
November 2025
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