We got chatting to a guy in a cafe today and asked where he was from. He said he lives in Schwabenland but originally from near Dresden. ‘I came over in 1979’.

Husband asked, ‘Huh? 1979? 10 years before the Wende?’ (Fall of the Wall).

...

‘Yes. My family escaped from the DDR in a small airplane’.

Us:

His stepdad was a glider pilot and instructor. He planned the escape for 2 years. It wasn’t easy. The plane they used for gliding lessons was always locked away at night. They’d have to do it during the day.

So the guy and his brother spent a few days camping at the small airport - not officially allowed but they were kids - and sneaked into the plane.

The step-dad had already spoken to friends who knew border guards to find out if they were told to shoot at unauthorised planes. If so, he’d have called it off. Couldn’t risk that with 2 kids!

Was told they wouldn’t.

As they approached the border to West Germany, a helicopter appeared. They flew on, hoping they wouldn’t be shot down. The they realised it was a US helicopter, not a DDR one.

The helicopter pilot tried to force them to turn back. They of course had no idea that it was a family trying to defect.

Stepdad looked for a safe place to land the plane. He found a large grassy field.

He’d never flown this plane before. But he’d flown gliders and knew the basics of landing a plane. He descended towards the field. It was a bit unevenly slopes but he managed to land safely.

The US helicopter landed in front of them to prevent them taking off again.

They announced they were defectors from the DDR. They BND (Bundesnachrichtendienst) is the CIA equivalent. They came and picked up the family and took them to a posh villa in Munich.

The stepdad spent days being interviewed by the BND while his wife and the kids were shown the sights, e.g. the Zugspitze Mountain - they guy we spoke to remembered being taken in 7-Series BMW and his mum being terrified on the Autobahn.

Once they’d ascertained that stepdad wasn’t a spy, the BND asked the family where they wanted to live. They decided to go to Schwaben. Where they still live.

Talk about living history! What an amazing story.