As noted in a previous WOT article, over 5,600 are estimated to have tried escaping the GDR (East Germany) via the Baltic Sea. Less than 1,000 succeeded; at least 174 are believed to have died in the attempt. The remainder were caught and imprisoned in East Germany.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s yet another example \u2013 one which happens to have been the last person to escape the GDR before the Berlin Wall fell.<\/p>\n
. . .<\/b><\/p>\n
Mario W\u00e4chtler was the last person to escape from East Germany. His escape by sea proved quite dramatic, though the distance he swam was possibly relatively short by Baltic Sea escape standards.<\/p>\n
W\u00e4chtler had wanted to leave East Germany since he was a teenager. He\u2019d tried at age 15 \u2013 but East German border guards had pulled him off a train heading West.<\/p>\n
In his spare time, W\u00e4chtler was a lifeguard in Karl-Marx Stadt (the city’s name under Communist rule; previously and again today it’s called Chemnitz). This afforded him opportunity and reason to train for long-distance swimming. <\/p>\n
W\u00e4chtler obtained a sleeveless neoprene swimsuit, then obtained black tights to cover his arms. He would wear a ski mask, and he obtained a snorkel.<\/p>\n
W\u00e4chtler’s brother drove him to the Baltic coast near Wismar. From a bay east of there, one could see the West German Timmendorfer Strand beach resort.<\/p>\n
At about 11PM, W\u00e4chtler entered the water. When he reached the area swept by East German spotlights, he used his snorkel to swim underwater.<\/p>\n
At dawn, W\u00e4chtler was still swimming. Around mid-morning, an East German patrol boat approached approximately 400 meters away \u2013 so he grabbed his snorkel and dived.<\/p>\n
The patrol boat’s crew didn\u2019t see him.<\/p>\n
By the late morning, W\u00e4chtler had reached shipping lanes. And he was spotted by a West German ferry returning from Sweden.<\/p>\n
The West German ferry put out a boat to rescue him. However, this in turn attracted the attention of an East German patrol boat. <\/p>\n
Both set a course towards W\u00e4chtler.<\/p>\n
The race was on. Hundreds of West Germans were watching from the ferry, cheering for the escapee. <\/p>\n
The West German rescue boat won the race. It took W\u00e4chtler on board.<\/p>\n
He was taken to the West German ferry. The ferry\u2019s passengers “passed the hat” and collected funds for him \u2013 some 6,000 DM \u2013 to support his making a fresh start in West Germany.<\/p>\n
He did exactly that, joining an uncle in Hanover. And W\u00e4chtler did well for himself: as of 2014, W\u00e4chtler ran a private ambulance service with 40 employees. <\/p>\n
Sources<\/u>:<\/p>\n
https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/news\/world\/europe\/fall-of-the-berlin-wall-hear-the-stories-of-the-last-people-who-made-it-across-from-the-east-9829905.html <\/i><\/a><\/p>\n