Father Betterov's secret escape from the GDR - a family history

Father Betterov's secret escape from the GDR - a family history

Magdeburg, Deutschland - On July 17, 1989, Father Betterov ventured a brave step that shook his family and whole village. In a quiet night, while the rest of the village slept, he abruptly left the GDR. A risky plan, because the risk of arrest by the GDR limit police hovered over him like a sword of Damocles. Whether his family already guessed the courage hidden in it?

His wife was informed about the escape plan, ready to face the threat of state reprisals. Just a day later, on July 18, 1989, there was actually an unannounced police visit to the Betterovs. The neighbors watched them, partly curious, partly. The mother of Betterov was even targeted by binoculars. Assumptions about the escape were recorded in writing, while the family's life changed rapidly. The consequences of this event are still difficult on the shoulders of the Betterovs.

a summer of change

The escape from Betterov was not an isolated case, but part of a great movement in the summer of 1989. Under the political pressure caused by the reforms Michail Gorbachev in the Soviet Union, the desire for changes also grew in the GDR. Gorbachev, in March 11, 1985 as Secretary General of the KPDSU in office, had launched Glasnost and Perestroika. These reforms enabled more openness and freedom and broke with the repressive Brezhnew doctrine, which only left the Eastern Bloc countries limited autonomy. In the GDR itself, however, the government under Erich Honecker remained largely unwilling to reform.

The resentment became louder on the streets of the GDR. By the end of 1988, around 110,000 citizens made departure applications, a sign that people longed for freedom. The illegal abandoning of the GDR has been punishable since the 1950s, but over 50,000 attempts to escape ended successfully in the summer of 1989 when some fled over Hungary after the barbed wire fences had been severed. The longing for a better life spread, and that in the hearts of people and on the faces of repressive state power.

a fateful year

The summer of 1989 was characterized by an incredible wave of migration and massive protests. This trend culminated in Paneuropean picnic on August 19, where many GDR citizens found the opportunity to flee across the Hungarian border. Protests in cities such as Leipzig, especially the Monday demonstrations, attracted tens of thousands of people. On October 9, 1989 there were already over 70,000 that occurred on the streets for freedom and changes.

The events around the escape of father Betterov and the increased waves of exit teach us that it is not just about individual fates, but that they were part of a collective dream of freedom and a better life. This movement finally led to the peaceful revolution in the GDR and changed the landscape of Europe forever.