Crazy Cold War Escapes Across The Berlin Wall

Heinz Meixner defects from East Germany by driving through Checkpoint Charlie, 1963. (Source: link).

The Berlin Wall, a symbol of the Cold War, divided the city of Berlin from 1961 to 1989. It was erected by the German Democratic Republic (GDR) to prevent East Germans from fleeing to the West. However, despite the wall's formidable size and the risk of death, many people attempted and succeeded in escaping from East Berlin to West Berlin.

1. The Hot Air Balloon Escape

On September 16, 1979, two families, the Strelzyks and the Wetzels, made a daring escape from East Germany in a homemade hot air balloon. The Strelzyks and Wetzels had been working on the balloon for a year, using scraps of cloth and a gas-powered engine from an old sewing machine. The balloon was 82 feet tall and 65 feet wide and took 10 months to build.

On the night of their escape, the families took off from a field in East Germany and flew for almost an hour, landing in a field just inside West Germany. They were spotted by a farmer who called the police, but by the time the police arrived, the families had already made it to safety.

The hot air balloon escape was one of the most dramatic and audacious escapes over the Berlin Wall. It showed that with enough determination and ingenuity, anything is possible.

Peter Strelzyk, Günter Wetzel, and their family sitting in their self-made hot-air balloon, which they used to flee East Germany in 1979. After their second attempt, three different balloons, and one and a half years of preparation they managed to land in West Germany on the 16th of September 1979. (Source: link).

2. The Tunnel 57 Escape

Tunnels were a popular method of escape from East Germany during the Cold War. One of the most famous tunnels was Tunnel 57, which was dug by a group of West Berlin students in 1964.

The students dug the tunnel from a bakery in West Berlin to a basement in East Berlin. It was a dangerous and time-consuming task, but the students were determined to help people escape from the oppressive regime in East Germany.

Over the course of several months, the students dug a 145-meter tunnel, using shovels and pickaxes. They installed electric lights and ventilation systems to make the tunnel more comfortable for those who would use it.

The tunnel was completed in October 1964, and the first escapees made their way through the tunnel on October 3. In total, 57 people escaped through Tunnel 57 before it was discovered and shut down by the East German authorities.

Stars and Stripes Front Page, October 7, 1964. (Source: link)

3. The Trabant Escape

The Trabant was a popular car in East Germany, and it was often used by people to try and escape to the West. In 1989, a group of East Germans made a daring escape in a Trabant, using it to crash through the border fence between East and West Berlin.

The group had driven the Trabant to the border fence, where they had removed the hood and doors to make the car as light as possible. They then attached a steel cable to the car and used it to pull down a section of the fence.

The Trabant was then driven through the gap in the fence and into West Berlin, with the East German border guards in hot pursuit. The group managed to outrun the guards and make it to safety in the West.

The Trabant escape was one of the most daring escapes over the Berlin Wall, and it showed that even everyday objects could be used to defy the restrictions of the East German regime.

Trabant exhibition.16 februari 1965. (Source: Wikimedia Commons).

4. The Trebuchet Escape

In 1963, a group of students in West Berlin built a trebuchet, a medieval siege weapon used to launch projectiles over castle walls. They used the trebuchet to launch a steel cable over the Berlin Wall, which was then used to pull a platform across the wall.

Two students, Joachim Neumann and Horst Klein, then climbed onto the platform and rode it across the wall to the other side. They were immediately taken into custody by West German authorities, but their escape was a remarkable feat of engineering and courage.

5. The Austin Healey Escape.

Heinz Meixner circumvented Checkpoint Charlie by driving his Austin Healey under the barrier with the windscreen removed and the air let slightly out of his tires. This was to get under the steel bar. His fiancee was in the back seat and her mother was hidden in the trunk. He had placed 30 bricks around the mother-in-law to protect her from gunfire.

On May 5, 1963, just minutes after midnight, Meixner drove his sports car around the barricades and into West Berlin. He married Margarete Thurau six years later.

Heinz Meixner with his fiancee and her mother Frau Thurau in the car, alongside Checkpoint Charlie having just escaped. (Source: link).

These escapes, and many others like them, serve as a reminder of the lengths to which people will go in search of freedom and a better life. The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 marked the end of an era and the beginning of a new chapter in German and world history.