Posted on 06/14/2017 6:55:08 AM PDT by Thistooshallpass9
Back in 1982, a major movie called "Night Crossing" was released in the U.S., telling the story of 2 East German families escaping the Communist country in a homemade hot air Balloon. But Günter Wetzel, one of the two fathers, told me that the movie got several details wrong. Here is a 25-minute radio segment that tells the correct, astounding story.
That’s nothing. I once left Oz for Kansas in a hot air balloon and...
No wait, that was a movie...
Very brave folks, these guys.
I remember watching ‘Night Crossing’ as a double-feature for ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark.’ I was only 10 but I already knew about East Germany. That early scene where the teenager is killed scared me more than anything in Raiders. That movie was one of the reasons I studied German in High School and more languages in the military (Arabic) and now (Russian).
Why would anyone want to “escape” from East Germany? Duh! Sure someone has video of people getting hung up on the barbed wire trying to get to freedom in Berlin. Some of the stories are hair raising of what lengths people went to.
The Great One is responsible for so many people’s freedoms.
Only 12 when he was elected but knew that there was something special about him.
NO WHERE TO HIDE!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqw7kXG0kxU
Many thanks for posting the interview of this brave man!
An inspiring story.
Their planning was impressive.
Thank you, sir. Thanks also for posting this video link. It’s a well-organized, sobering and thought-provoking message.
Amazing the ingenuity and dedication when it comes to wanting to be free.
The left never gets it.
Failure is not an option. I’ll go to my grave resisting them!
I was stationed in Germany in 1982 near the IGB when I saw this movie. Where we were you could see the East German border floodlights.
When the balloon finally drifted over the border I breathed a sigh of relief. The occupants didn’t know for sure until the policeman they encountered turned out to be West German.
From “Top Secret”
Hillary Flammond: My uncle was born in America.
Nick Rivers: Oh, really?
Hillary Flammond: But he was one of the lucky ones. He managed to escape in a balloon during the Jimmy Carter presidency.
I remember years ago watching a Czech movie, about a fake border post the Communists set up, complete with Czech Communist agents dressed up as US Soldiers.
Agents would escort the escapees to the installation, thinking that they had made it safely out of Czechoslovakia. There they were interrogated to find out the names of others who were wishing to escape, who would then be subsequently arrested.
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