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Fleeing Communism in a Hot Air Balloon

G眉nter Wetzel and his family used a home-made hot air balloon to escape East Germany in 1979.

In 1979 G眉nter Wetzel and his friend Peter Strelzyk were increasingly frustrated by the restrictions on their freedom imposed by the Communist government in East Germany. So they developed a daring plan to fly their families to the West. Risking imprisonment if they were discovered, they designed, built and tested a series of hot air balloons in secret.

15 minutes

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    Step into someone else鈥檚 life and expect the unexpected. Extraordinary personal stories