Hans Weidner had been hoping for months to escape drab East Germany and make his way to the West. The odds were against him, for Weidner, 40, was a cripple on crutches who lived in the village of Neugersdorf, 115 miles southeast of the frontier of freedom. But Hans Weidner did have one major asset, the 30-passenger bus that he operated for the local Communist regime. It was an ugly thing, and ancient. Its chassis creaked, and the engine coughed; a cream-colored coat of paint could not disguise the welts and bruises of two decades of chugging service. In...
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