It is incredible that one man took his bride to safety in an Austin
Healey Sprite, but TWO - with the SAME Sprite!!! WOW
I like the line about the defective exhaust. LOL
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The House At Checkpoint Charlie
A Little West Berlin Museum Celebrates The Ingenuity Of Those Who
Conquered The Wall
December 07, 1986|By Article by Paul Martin, a freelance writer based
in Riverside.
The exploit, and the Sprite, received international publicity.
Several months later Norbert Konrad tried the same stunt. Although
born in Germany, Konrad had an Argentine passport. He had fallen in
love with an East German woman, Helga Werner, but the authorities
refused permission for her to emigrate. Although concerned that the
guards at Checkpoint Charlie might be particularly suspicious of
sports cars, Konrad rented an Austin-Healey Sprite at a West Berlin agency.
As Helga huddled in the trunk, Konrad drove toward the East Berlin
checkpoint. En route, an East Berlin policeman stopped him; Konrad
was certain he had been discovered. He relaxed when the policeman
pointed to a loose fitting on the exhaust pipe and told him to have
it repaired. Konrad gladly fixed it, then resumed his drive.
At the checkpoint Konrad showed his passport, and the guard directed
him to the customs office. Instead, Konrad stepped on the gas, raced
for the barrier, ducked his head under the 37 1/2-inch-high
horizontal pole and skidded into West Berlin. Konrad later returned
the car to the rental agency and was incredulous when he learned it
was the same vehicle Heinz Meixner had used. Several weeks later
Konrad and Werner were married.
The trick worked twice, but no more. To prevent a third Sprite
escape, the East Germans embedded steel bars in the concrete beneath
the barrier.
<the article continues>
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1986-12-07/features/8604010562_1_rainer-hildebrandt-west-berlin-east-berlin/3
Tim Collins
http://www.flickr.com/photos/12702006 at N07/sets/
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