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My mom's bff's husband was originally South African but his family moved to East Germany in the 60's. His mother, his sister, and him escaped in the back of an
by failwhaleshark 6y ago
My mom's bff's husband was originally South African but his family moved to East Germany in the 60's. His mother, his sister, and him escaped in the back of an industrial box truck. Specifically, he was stowed in a toolbox and was frightened of being caught or killed the entire way. To this day, he has extreme claustrophobia as a result.
- herodoturtle 6y agoCurious why they needed to "escape" - South Africa's border control has always been pretty reasonable, so this piqued my interest. Were they criminals on the run? Or was it an illegal citizenship / passport issue? Sounds like an incredible story either way.
- failwhaleshark 6y agoNo, of course not. This was a long time ago when things were much different. They are normal, good people who tried to do their best to have a safe and comfortable life.
- CRConrad 6y agoEscaped from East Germany.
- AuthorizedCust 6y agoMoved to East Germany? In the era of the Berlin Wall, which was built to prevent people from fleeing that country?
- failwhaleshark 6y agoYeap. There were bad conditions at the time in apartheid SA: violence and crime. (It's still pretty bad considering most middle-class homes have security guards and enormous gates, similar to Brazil.) I don't remember the precise specifics. IIRC, it was okay at the time of relocating but it deteriorated.
- mlindner 6y agoWhy in the world would they move from South Africa to East Germany? People leave East Germany, they don't move there.
- failwhaleshark 6y agoSee other comment where it's answered.