border. And it shows something else. The two fences belong to the East Germans. As
you can see there is little to no vegetation between the fences. What was there were
anti-vehicle mines. The fence itself was designed to cut fingers when grabbed. On each
pole of the fence was an anti-personnel mine. They were connected to the fence so that
when the fence got jiggled enough they blew up toward each other. The grass to the
border was mowed back 100 yards to prevent any cover growing and to provide a clear
shot for the guards in the towers. Around 1972 or 73 the mines were removed but not in
time for one family. Now comes the rest of the story... On Christmas Eve in 1969 (I am
not positive of the year) a17 year old boy and his father attempted an escape. They drove
to the border. Then they jumped out of their car and ran for the fence. The boy made it
first and jumped up on the fence triggering the anti-personnel mines. He was de-gutted.
The father stopped in mid-stride. The guard tower opened fire on the father and wounded
him. Then they came out in a truck and picked him up and took him back for questioning.
They left the boy hanging. There was one BIG problem with this. The boy was still alive.
The American team was only 10 to 12 feet away. They could do nothing without starting
an international incident. A call was made all the way up to Washington DC. Nine hours
later, on Christmas morning the East Germans came to get the boy off the fence.
However it was 2 hours too late. The American team listened to the boy moan and ask
for help for 7 hours before he died. Here are 2 pictures of where this happened. You can
see the cross erected in memory of the tragic death.
