Daring Escapes
| Although every escape over the border was dangerous and daring, there were some that captured the world's attention because of their ingenuity and courage. Listed below are some of these escapes. |
| Two Border Guards Escape | ||
| On August 18, 1986, two border guards on duty in a guard tower escaped over the Berlin Wall together. After climbing over the guards threw their rifles back over the Wall and walked to a bar where the patrons bought them a beer before the police were called. It was highly unusual that border guards escaped together. | ||
| Cemetery Tunnel | ||
| An underground tunnel was dug underneath the Berlin Wall to a cemetery in east Berlin. "Mourners" would bring flowers to the special grave and then disappear from sight. The tunnel was discovered after a real mourner accidentally fell into the tunnel. | ||
| The Boat Escape | ||
| In June, 1962, fourteen East Berliners commandeered a boat after getting the captain drunk and tying him up. They then made a successful dash to freedom across the Spree River under a hail of bullets. | ||
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| The Beautiful Balloon | ||
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Peter Streizyk and Guenter Wetzel made a hot air balloon designed to carry their two families to freedom. After spending over a year on the project the first escape attempt failed when the balloon landed short of the border with only the XXX family on board. On the second attempt both families crossed 40 kilometers of East German territory in 28 minutes and landed in West Germany on September 15, 1979. | |
| The Great Escape | ||
| In one of the most incredible escapes from behind the Iron Curtain, 37 students and their relatives dug a tunnel for almost six months from West Berlin to some back yard toilets in the East. The tunnel was 475 feet long, two feet high, and was 50 feet underground. Over a two day period 31 women, 23 men, and three children passed through the tunnel to freedom. A border guard was shot and killed as he pursued the last group of escapees in the tunnel. |
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| The Fake Russians | ||
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Because of the unique agreements between the four powers occupying Berlin, the military members of the French, British, American, and Russian armies could travel freely between the occupation zones in Berlin. Recognizing this, one East Berlin woman made uniforms that closely resembled Russian military clothing. While the three adult males donned the uniforms, their female friend hid in the car and they drove to a border checkpoint. Once they reached the checkpoint the East German border guard waved the "Russians" through the control point into West Berlin. | |
| A Flight to Remember | ||
| On April 4, 1980, a helicopter lifted off from a West German airfield. Its mission; to fly into Czechoslovakia and rescue an East German family waiting in a mountain clearing. In planning since 1978, the rescue involved smuggling radios to the East German family as well as selecting a landing zone in Czechoslovakia. Additionally, Hans Vogtmann, the master planner of the operation, traveled to America to recruit pilot Jim Hill. Upon the designated day the family radioed Vogtmann once they reached the landing zone and the helicopter then raced into Czechoslovakia to pick up the family of four. The entire trip took just 4:26 minutes. | ||
| More Helicopter Escapes | ||
| American helicopter pilot Barry
Meeker was
recruited by Munich lawyer Heinz Heidrich to fly into Czechoslovakia to rescue
his family he left behind when he escaped from East Germany. Meeker's low
level flight across the border rescuing Heidrich's family was so successful that a second
escape for one of Heidrich's former secretaries was
scheduled a year later. Using the same pickup site he used when rescuing
Heidrich's family, Meeker once again flew into the Czech Republic and
rescued the secretary as well as three other persons she brought with
her. Flushed with success, Heidrich planned another pickup at the same location just a week later but the
Czech border patrols were on to them. As the Bell Jet Ranger touched town
and the group headed for the waiting helicopter they came under fire
from the border guards. Meeker was wounded as a bullet tore through
the cockpit and a teenage girl was
shot in the leg as she raced towards the helicopter. The wounded girl was carried
to the helicopter by a Polish volunteer who accompanied Meeker on the
flight. Three of the four escapees made it to the chopper before the pilot
was forced to leave. Left behind was a middle-aged woman and the assistant
who had left the helicopter a second time to help the lagging lady.
This escape proved to be Barry Meeker's last as the repairs to his rented helicopter and fines dished out by the West German government eroded a great deal of the money he made on the three flights. As for Heinz Heidrich, he continued his escape enterprises into the 1980s.1 |
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| 1 Peter Wyden, Wall, p. 426 | ||
