How People Escaped East Germany (Balloons, Tunnels & Zip Lines)

In 1979, two families flew out of East Germany in a homemade hot-air balloon. They weren't the only ones willing to risk everything. For 28 years, East Germans tried to cross the Berlin Wall and the inner German border: through tunnels, on zip lines, hidden in cars, swimming the Baltic Sea, and even by being "bought free" by West Germany. This is the story of how they did it, what it cost, and the night the wall finally opened. CHAPTERS 0:00 The balloon 1:09 Chapter One: A Country Losing Its People 2:09 Chapter Two: One Night in August 3:56 Chapter Three: The Death Strip 5:36 Chapter Four: Under the Wall 6:58 Chapter Five: Over the Wall 8:30 Chapter Six: Through the System 10:11 Epilogue: The Night the Wall Opened Some scenes use illustrative stock footage; maps and graphics are simplified illustrations. SOURCES Berlin.de: The construction of the Berlin Wall Centre for Contemporary History Potsdam (ZZF) & Berlin Wall Foundation: Victims at the Berlin Wall, 1961–1989 Chronik der Mauer (chronik-der-mauer.de) Bundesarchiv: Spektakuläre Fluchtversuche Deutsch-Deutsches Museum Mödlareuth Reporting and histories on Tunnel 57, Tunnel 29, the 1979 balloon escape, the Bethke brothers and the prisoner trade (Häftlingsfreikauf) PHOTO CREDITS (Wikimedia Commons) Bundesarchiv (CC BY-SA 3.0 DE): Helmut J. Wolf, Peter Heinz Junge, Peer Grimm and unknown photographers · CIA, U.S. National Archives, U.S. Air Force / CMSgt. Don Sutherland, Horst Siegmann (public domain) · Anefo (CC0) · Willy Pragher (CC BY 3.0) · Aad van der Drift (CC BY 2.0) · Raphaël Thiémard (CC BY-SA 2.0) · Sigurd Hilkenbach, Jens Lordan, Brewer Bob, N-Lange.de, OTFW Berlin (CC BY-SA 3.0) · qwesy qwesy, Prof.Quatermass (CC BY 3.0) · Dietmar Rabich, Ansgar Koreng, ThBor, Berthold Werner, Flodur63, Werdersen (CC BY-SA 4.0) · PantheraLeo1359531 (CC BY 4.0 / public domain) · Cuchulainn (public domain) Stock footage: Pexels (pexels.com) #berlinwall #eastgermany #documentary #history #coldwar