Sorge

The Escape Attempt

Alarm in the Sorge border section

Location: Sorge Tour duration: approx. 40 mins. Stops: 8 Walking distance: 1.1 km

Two 15-year-old teenagers set off for the West. What happened to them next was covered up for many years by the East German secret police. On the walk along the patrol path, we search for traces of this story.

Taking the form of a ‘true crime story’, this Grenzwandler tour delves into the past. It sheds light not only on the story of a failed escape, but also on the Stasi’s extensive cover-up. Featuring animations, historical archive material and eyewitness accounts, the tour also leads to the newly erected memorial stone for Heiko Runge, which was unveiled on 8 December 2024 alongside the Grenzwandler tour.

We both miss him just as much today as we did 60 years ago.

— Heiko Runge’s mother

The tour near Sorge / Benneckenstein

The tour begins on the Kolonnenweg and a popular Harz hiking trail, leading along the Brocken view to the memorial stone and a car park.

Starting point: Kolonnenweg of the GDR border troops, 38877 Benneckenstein

Parts of the tour can be experienced online. To do so, start the virtual tour.

Local partners:

Sorge Border Museum