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52 years ago today. . . <br><br>
TIME Magazine <br><br>
Friday, May. 17, 1963 <br>
Two Inches to Safety <br><br>
Since the hated Wall went up in 1961, escapees have ingeniously gotten
past it by tunneling, climbing, jumping, or by just knocking it down.
Last week a young Austrian outdid them all, smuggling out his pretty
fiancée and her mother through the simple expedient of keeping his head
down. Heinz Meixner, 20, had moved to West Berlin two years ago to take a
job as a lathe worker. As a foreigner, he was able to cross the line
freely into East Berlin, where, at a students' dance last September, he
fell in love with tiny, attractive Margarete Thurau. When Margarete
applied for permission to emigrate to Austria, Communist police told her
that she should marry her young man in East Berlin and settle down there.
"As soon as I heard that," says Meixner, "I made up my
mind to get her out." Last Exit. He laid his plans with meticulous
care. To get a good look at the Communist side of the Friedrichstrasse
crossing point for foreigners, Meixner stalled his motor scooter near the
peppermint-striped steel beam that closes the last exit in the Wall.
Pretending to have engine trouble, he measured the height of the barrier,
found that it was only 37½ in. from the ground. His next step was to
search the car rental agencies in West Berlin for a sports car small
enough to slip under the beam. He finally decided on an Austin Healey
Sprite, which, without its windshield, measured 35½ in. high. Meixner
confided in another young Austrian, gave him an exact timetable of his
plans and asked him to prevent any cars on the Western side from starting
into the barrier area at the critical moment. At last, when his plans
were complete. Meixner drove his little sports car back into East Berlin
to Margarete's house. Margarete crouched in the narrow space behind the
driver's seat; her mother was wedged into the luggage compartment.
"Luckily," says petite Margarete, "Mother is just like
me." Leaving nothing to chance, Meixner also let air out of his
tires to lower the car. Shortly after midnight, Meixner drove to the
entrance of the frontier area, showed his Austrian passport to a guard,
who waved him on to the customs officer. Bricks for Mamma. It was the
time for action. Instead of pulling up at the customs shed, Meixner
gunned his motor, skidded around the slalom barriers, and shot past the
startled guard. Looming before him was that last bar. For one terrifying
moment, it seemed too low to clear. But he had measured well. Jamming his
foot on the accelerator, Meixner ducked his head and whizzed into West
Berlin. By the time he got there, he was going so fast that he left a
96-ft. skid mark when he jammed on the brakes. Safe with his passengers,
Meixner explained his escape plan to startled West Berlin police: "I
figured it would take the Vopos three seconds to draw their weapons once
they realized what I was doing. But I thought I could make it in those
three seconds. Besides, we had 30 bricks behind Mrs. Thurau to protect
her if firing started." <br><br>
and It is incredible that one man took his bride to safety in an Austin
Healey Sprite, but TWO - with the SAME Sprite!!! WOW <br>
I like the line about the defective exhaust. LOL <br>
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<br><br>
The House At Checkpoint Charlie <br>
A Little West Berlin Museum Celebrates The Ingenuity Of Those Who
Conquered The Wall <br><br>
December 07, 1986|By Article by Paul Martin, a freelance writer based in
Riverside. <br><br>
The exploit, and the Sprite, received international publicity. Several
months later Norbert Konrad tried the same stunt. Although born in
Germany, Konrad had an Argentine passport. He had fallen in love with an
East German woman, Helga Werner, but the authorities refused permission
for her to emigrate. Although concerned that the guards at Checkpoint
Charlie might be particularly suspicious of sports cars, Konrad rented an
Austin-Healey Sprite at a West Berlin agency. <br><br>
As Helga huddled in the trunk, Konrad drove toward the East Berlin
checkpoint. En route, an East Berlin policeman stopped him; Konrad was
certain he had been discovered. He relaxed when the policeman pointed to
a loose fitting on the exhaust pipe and told him to have it repaired.
Konrad gladly fixed it, then resumed his drive. <br><br>
At the checkpoint Konrad showed his passport, and the guard directed him
to the customs office. Instead, Konrad stepped on the gas, raced for the
barrier, ducked his head under the 37 1/2-inch-high horizontal pole and
skidded into West Berlin. Konrad later returned the car to the rental
agency and was incredulous when he learned it was the same vehicle Heinz
Meixner had used. Several weeks later Konrad and Werner were married.
<br><br>
The trick worked twice, but no more. To prevent a third Sprite escape,
the East Germans embedded steel bars in the concrete beneath the barrier.
<br><br>
<the article continues> <br><br>
<a href="http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1986-12-07/features/8604010562_1_rainer-hildebrandt-west-berlin-east-berlin/3">
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1986-12-07/features/8604010562_1_rainer-hildebrandt-west-berlin-east-berlin/3</a>
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