Up In The Air

As night fell over the East German town of Pössneck on the evening
of 14 September 1979, most of the town's citizens were busy getting
ready for bed. But not Günter Wetzel. The mason was in his attic,
hunched over an old motor-driven sewing machine, desperately
working to complete his secret project. Wetzel and his friend H.
Peter Strelzyk and their families had been working on their plan
for more than a year and a half, and by now the authorities were
looking for them. They were nearly out of time. Wetzel had feigned
illness in order to procure five weeks off from work, and during
that time he and his friend had collected the materials and
laboured over the construction together. This would be their last
chance. Earlier in the day, a strong wind had arisen from the
north. These were exactly the conditions that the two families had
been waiting for. Around 10:00pm, Wetzel put the finishing touches
on the massive patchwork project, then rounded up Strelzyk and
prepared to leave. Two hours later the families were en route to a
predetermined clearing on a hill by way of automobile and moped.
The other components of their project—a steel platform, a homemade
gas burner, and a powerful fan—were already packed and ready to go.
It was time to attempt the escape.