For weeks a grim rumor had chilled men's hearts on both sides of Germany's Iron Curtain. On Aug. 1, the Communists would block the last remaining loophole of escape from Soviet East Germany by closing the border between the East & West sectors of Berlin. Hearing the rumor, thousands of East Germans snatched up their puny belongings and fled the People's Paradise.
They risked severe punishments: under a new Communist law, it is an offense to leave one's home for more than 72 hours without Volkspolizei permission; even the "intent to flee" is punishable by loss of property. But as Der Tag...
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