OFF THE FENCE

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The Berlin Wall: Escape to Freedom

PROGRAMME DETAILS

The Berlin Wall: Escape to Freedom

One-off / one hour
  • #
  • #
  • Producer

    Dan Bree
  • Executive Producer

    Michael Hoff
  • Production Company

    Michael Hoff Productions
  • Produced For

    In association with Off the Fence for National Geographic Channel
  • Duration

    50 minutes
  • Delivery

    Immediately
  • YOP

    2006
A tyrannical regime builds a monstrous concrete slab that severs a city – the Berlin Wall. On the Western side, it’s a hated symbol of a bitter Cold War, on the East, a deadly blockade to liberty.

Berlin Wall: Escape To Freedom  reveals the stories of courageous East Germans who dared to challenge the authorities and the Berlin Wall in their bid for freedom. From tunnelling under the Wall, to smuggling refugees in a car’s trunk, to flights over the Wall, uncover the details of sensational escape stories. 

It takes us into the heart of the Death Strip – a lethal zone next to the Wall filled with barbed wire, mines, attack dogs, tank traps, and armed guards - and shows us how authorities learned from each escape to make the Wall stronger and harder to beat.

Finally, the Wall that was strengthened over 28 years was opened in one unbelievable night and yet the divisions of generations past still linger today in modern Berlin.