Twenty-Eight East Berliners Escape to West

Feb. 11, 1963 - It was reported today that 28 East Germans have escaped to the West hidden in a secret compartment behind the grille of an automobile. Twenty-eight separate trips had to be made, the German magazine Der Stern said. The escape plan can be revealed now because Communist authorities have discovered the trick. The refugees all crossed at the Heinrich Heine checkpoint for West Germans, the magazine said. Each was concealed in a compartment constructed behind the grille over the left front wheel of a West German Opel Kapitän car. The hiding place was large enough to hold a person no taller than 5 ft. 6 in.

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