Cold War Escapes That Were Absolutely Unbelievable

It was a midnight escape so risky, it seemed destined to fail. It already had once before – but this time was different. In hushed silence, Günter Wetzel and Peter Strelzyk pulled yard after yard of folded fabric from the back of a car and assembled their contraption by starlight. Nervous glances at the woods betrayed their worry; the East German Secret Police knew about their plan, and would be out searching. Soon, an air blower roared to life. A round, swollen giant grew in the shadows, and a 40-foot high burst of flame lit the clearing. Wetzel and Strelzyk guided their wives and children onto the metal platform. Gripping tight to a rail made of clothesline, the only barrier between them and freefall, the two families rose towards the clouds under a patchwork ball of fire, a 75-foot-tall hand-sewn hot air balloon. Battered by winds, the balloon climbed higher, higher, more than a mile into the sky...until the homemade burner gave one last choked sputter and died. Just before 2:30 AM, September 15, 1979, two terrified families began plummeting towards the pitch-black ground. What happened next is the stuff of legend – as are the rest of these incredible true stories of desperate people who risked everything for freedom during the Cold War.