<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>On September 16, 1979, one of the most thrilling escapes of the Cold War took place from Communist East Germany, when two families flew to freedom in their homemade hot air balloon.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Peter Strelzyk, an electrician, and Günter Wetzel, a bricklayer, like many East German citizens, were fed up with living under their country's authoritarian regime and craved to take their families to neighbouring democratic West Germany.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But the problem was they were prevented from leaving East Germany which had become a virtual prison.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/dna-evidence-found-near-scene-of-charlie-kirks-shooting-matches-suspect-fbi-director-says/3bb80d7c-19d9-4ee5-8d81-2cd83204cec7"><strong><span>DNA found on towel wrapped around Charlie Kirk rifle</span></strong></a><strong></strong></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The way through Berlin was blocked by a huge wall, while the 1400km border with West Germany was sealed by the Iron Curtain - a network of watchtowers, machine gun nests, minefields and barbed wire fences.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Hundreds of East Germans had been killed as they attempted to leave.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Strelzyk and Wetzel stumbled on the solution when a relative visiting from the west brought a magazine about hot air balloons.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/world/today-in-history-september-16-what-happened-on-this-day-east-german-balloon-escape/3f343704-df8d-4c43-92ca-fece1416999d" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The pair decided they and their families - a total of eight people - would build their own balloon and fly over the Iron Curtain into West Germany.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But in a country where unusual purchases aroused the suspicion of authorities, obtaining the materials was no easy task.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/food-and-water-shortages-predicted-for-australia-in-national-climate-risk-assessment-report/c0c4dfdf-36f8-406e-98ea-2935e5173980"><strong><span>Avocados, fish, milk and beef under threat in catastrophic climate warning</span></strong></a><strong></strong></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Strelzyk, a former East German air force mechanic, calculated they'd need 800 square metres of cloth for the body of the balloon.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The families travelled 160km to the nearest city to buy synthetic taffeta, telling the store it was to make sails for their yacht club.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The balloon's gondola was made from an iron frame and clothes line, while the burner was fashioned from two propane gas cannisters.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Following two failed flights, the families decided to try a third attempt in the early hours of September 16, 1979.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>This time, the balloon made a successful lift-off.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Despite catching fire mid-flight, it carried them over the East German border defences, which shone searchlights on the strange craft,</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>They came down near a village in Bavaria and were met by a stunned local police officer.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Wetzel broke his leg during the rough landing, but the other family members were unharmed.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/today-in-history" target="" title="For more from our Today in History archive, click here."><strong><span>For more from our Today in History archive, click here</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/how-to-follow-9news-digital/29855bb1-ad3d-4c38-bc25-3cb52af1216f" target="_blank" title=""><strong><em><span>DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP</span></em></strong></a><strong><em><span>: Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. 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