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Tour the Secret Escape Tunnels Under the Berlin Wall

Where: Berlin, Germany
October 17, 2009 at 5:29 PM | by | Comments (0)

East Germany must have been a really nasty place to live, because so many people risked their lives to escape to the west. A creepy tour in Berlin provides a stark reminder of the lengths people will go for freedom, with walks through some of the escape tunnels under the Berlin Wall. An interesting AP story points out that about 300 people managed to escape through various tunnels in the years after the wall was built in 1961, with many continuing to work from the west to free family members.

Back in the 1960's and 1970's, Hasso Herschel dug tunnels that helped dozens of people escape East Berlin. Now, at the age of 74, he shows visitors how he did it during guided tours of the tunnels and bunkers in several parts of Berlin. Most were dug from west to east, since disposal of dirt was easier that way, and generally connected houses on both sides of the walls, usually through a hole in the basement floor.

The thought of crawling through a dark, dirty tunnel to escape an oppressive government is chilling, to say the least. This doesn't exactly sound like a feel-good tour, but it's a good way to learn some Cold War history, and it sure makes life in the west feel cushy.

[Photo: AP via Yahoo! News]

Related Stories:
· Tours of Escape Tunnels Mark Berlin Wall History [AP via Yahoo! News]
· Berliner Unterwelten [Official Site]
· Cold War Travel [Jaunted]

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