Historic East German refugee train rolls again
The Freedom Train was the beginning of East Germany's peaceful revolution, paving the way for the fall of the Berlin Wall and subsequently the fall of communism. On October 1, 1989, the train left Prague, then the capital of Czechoslovakia, and travelled to the town of Hof in what was then West Germany.
After the East German government closed the border to Hungary, the last chance for people to leave the country was via Czechoslovakia. The West German embassy was the most easily accessible outpost of the world inside the Iron Curtain countries and so, in late September, thousands of East Germans flocked to the embassy grounds and set up camp.
The 4,000 or so East Germans stayed there for five days, hoping that they would be allowed to leave the communist East.
After tough negotiations, it was agreed that the people camped at the embassy would be granted their wish, but the East German government had one condition: the train had to travel through East Germany.
West Germany's foreign minister at the time, Hans-Dietrich Genscher, flew to Prague to pass on the good news and to reassure those who were to board the train.
"It was clear to me that if I tell them your trains must go through the East, they will be afraid, Genscher said at a press conference in Prague this week as part of the 20th anniversary celebrations.
"I could tell them: nothing will happen to you."
Read entire article at Deutsche Welle
After the East German government closed the border to Hungary, the last chance for people to leave the country was via Czechoslovakia. The West German embassy was the most easily accessible outpost of the world inside the Iron Curtain countries and so, in late September, thousands of East Germans flocked to the embassy grounds and set up camp.
The 4,000 or so East Germans stayed there for five days, hoping that they would be allowed to leave the communist East.
After tough negotiations, it was agreed that the people camped at the embassy would be granted their wish, but the East German government had one condition: the train had to travel through East Germany.
West Germany's foreign minister at the time, Hans-Dietrich Genscher, flew to Prague to pass on the good news and to reassure those who were to board the train.
"It was clear to me that if I tell them your trains must go through the East, they will be afraid, Genscher said at a press conference in Prague this week as part of the 20th anniversary celebrations.
"I could tell them: nothing will happen to you."