Weekend Open Thread – “Schwimmer schwimmt in die Freiheit”
The Berlin Wall wasn’t the only hazardous venue East German prisoners residents used while attempting to leave their prison-state. Some attempted to cross the Inner German Border. Others attempted to escape by sea.
Escaping by sea to the West was difficult. Over 5,500 are estimated to have tried. Less than 1,000 succeeded; at least 174 are believed to have died in the attempt. The remainder were caught and imprisoned by East Germany.
Here is one example. The planned swim in this case was approximately 25 kilometers – or 15 1/2 miles.
. . .
Axel Mitbauer was a member of the East German national swim team. He specialized in the 400m swim.
Mitbauer was well-treated as an elite East German athlete. However, Mitbauer’s foreign travel for international competition exposed him to the reality of life in the West as compared to conditions in East Germany. He realized that his home nation was lying to its people. He came to regard East Germany as “a lawless state”, and determined to use his swimming ability to leave East Germany.
Unfortunately for Mitbauer, the Stasi had observed him talking frequently with West German athletes. He was arrested, and spent seven weeks in a Stasi-run prison.
He was released. In doing so, the Stasi had erred.
Mitbauer obtained a large amount of petroleum jelly (30 tubes). During his escape, he would use this to slather his body with the substance as insulation.
He trained by swimming in cold-water ponds at local coal-fired power plants. And on 17 August 1969, Mitbauer acted.
He started at the Boltenhagen resort area. His plan was to swim to Lubeck bay – approximately 25 km (15 1/2 miles) away.
Mitbauer had previously observed the coastal border guards in that area, and knew that they turned their searchlights off periodically for roughly a minute at a time to allow them to cool. So he got ready – and when the guards turned the searchlights off around 9PM, he acted.
He entered the water. He had about 1 minute to cross both sandbars to open water before the lights were to be turned back on.
Mitbauer made it across the sandbars in time. And he also made it to freedom – after swimming for 4 hours in 18C (64 Fahrenheit) water with only petroleum jelly for insulation.
Mitbauer reached a buoy at around 1AM, and climbed onto it. At around 7AM, a West German ship spotted him and took him aboard – and the rest of the way to freedom. Had that not happened Mitbauer had planned to continue the swim after warming up in the sun that morning.
As of 2009, Mitbauer was living in Switzerland, and was working as a swimming coach for elite talent in Karlsruhe.
Sources:
https://www.dw.com/en/top-athlete-escaped-the-gdr-using-his-aquatic-talents/a-4862742
. . .
Enjoy the WOT, everyone. And have a great weekend.
Category: Historical, Open thread
fIRST!
Curses foiled again. And if y’all knew how many hoops he jumped thru to get back from the provision run and to get beat out by my man CW. I bow to high royalness on the throne. Literally nano nano second singular.
Congrats Sir! Now maybe we can see some proper lording over.
I’ll work on the lording over, good friend … in the meantime, I thank you for your good wishes!
It’ll be more impressive when you can get “First!” and your weekly trivia in the same post. 😀
Congrats Commish!
Although you did violate the First! Rule!
I think you still deserve it anyway!!
Have a Happy Weekend my Friends!!!
Willy
Out
1st
Third !!!
My personal best !!!
You get the bronze medal this week … 5th/77th FA and I had a photofinish to see who gets the gold. Stand by …
Third and fourth Hot Diggety Sheeeiiiitttt !!!
Solid gold to you CW. As much pleasure as it would give AW1Ed to tell me not only NO! (hahahahaha) but HELL to the NO, I will not contest the official TAH Time Stamp on the Coveted FIRST for the Friday Weekend Open Thread. That dawg bit me almost as hard as Army did Navy during the ball game played on 8 Dec 18. I could hear the gloating in his typing “been waiting on this.” He even pointed out that VOV was NOT an Admin, and that all of VOVs posting went thru AW1Ed yada, yada, yada. I’m sure he would use that same lame duck excuse if I tried to point out that you, as a regular poster of the Trivia may fall under that argument. I won’t.
In the meantime, we will continue to push Thunderstixx along, and enjoy the excellent articles that Hondo is providing us. I’m sure that Old Cotex and the Bern is wondering why all of those folks were trying to escape from the socialist paradise of East Germany, just to get to that Capitalistic Den on Iniquity that was the West. The horror!
Good job on the Trivia. Tanks!
Great story Hondo!!
Have a great weekend all…I’m off to grab one of the grandkids and spend the weekend teaching him the finer points of inappropriate, politically incorrect behavior.
A worthy endeavor!
I’ve been doing something similar with a kid that MRS D and I occasionally look after. Ask him what makes the rockin’ world go round…
Fat bottomed girls you make the rocking world go round
Get on your bikes and ride!
So, with the WOT first in the bag for the week, here’s this week’s trivia column. I hope you enjoy it! DID YOU KNOW…? Was the Post-It Note™ really created by mistake? By Commissioner Wretched I love a good snack. (If you look at me, you’ll think I really adore good snacks, and a lot of them. But that’s another topic for another time.) Right now, as I write this column, I’m enjoying a small bag of the corn chip snack, Bugles. They’re pretty good, but I seem to remember there were a couple of other snacks produced by General Mills at about the same time in the mid 1960s – Whistles and Daisy*s. What ever happened to them, I wondered? A quick look on the Internet told me that Whistles and Daisy*s – shaped like tubes and scoops, respectively – didn’t last very long, but Bugles endured and have even worked up to being issued in four different flavors these days. To tell you the truth, I preferred Whistles best. Heck, I remember when Bugles, Whistles and Daisy*s all came in boxes instead of bags. The point of all of this (and you knew I had one) is to remind us all that the times, they are a-changing, and if you’re like me, you measure it in things that give you pleasure. Like Whistles. Of course, if you’re like me, you need professional help. Here’s this week’s trivia, to be enjoyed alone or with your favorite snack! Want a Bugle? Did you know … … until the assassination of President John F. Kennedy (1917-1963), it was not a federal crime to assassinate a president? (It certainly should have been!) … the longest-running television program is Meet the Press? The show began in 1947 and continues today. It has been on the air for 72 years, though today’s version bears little resemblance to the first program of November 6, 1947. (One day I’ll let you know the record for the shortest-running program.) … one of the most useful – and ubiquitous – items in any office was discovered by mistake? I… Read more »
“Of course, if you’re like me, you need professional help.”
You mean I’m not the only one! Wow!!! It’s great to have company at last.
Here’s a little bit more about Eugene Shoemaker:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugene_Merle_Shoemaker
Shoemaker-Levy 9 was the comet that broke up and impacted on Jupiter in 1994 (I was able to view this while stationed in Yokosuka at the time – still have my C-8 SCT telescope!).
Re the lines on the floor in Parliament – when politicians crossed they were told to go back and “toe the line.” Now you know the rest of the story…
First! Ha!
Came in at third. Actually read Hondo’s excellent article. Now I’m 12th.
No you didn’t. I got third AND fourth !!!
I mean, I would have been third if I hadn’t stopped to read. Lesson learned. 🙂
Not First!
I, too, am not first!! Nor second, third and on and on.
Happy Friday everyone!
Another good story
I am reporting all of you to AOC.
She is going to put you all on her list.
Smoke that DW’s.
That’s my fetish, being on lists, especially when it’s a government official.
So. Damn. Hot.
Interesting item i saw on news this morning, Pres Trump refused to share his SAT scores with the public. SAT, isn’t that for entering college. My personal view with the present things going on, wouldn’t it be more informative to the public to know the IQ of all the congress persons, even better would be arrest history of all congress persons, yeah don’t hold your breath. HC taught the Dumbs all about the delete button and also about how to shred paper as well as how money and power work to shut mouths. Course Republicans would be the ones to be most truthful as Dumbs can bribe or buy high IQ scores.
YOu should have put a spew alert on that post…
IQ test for congress….
Sorry, didn’t occur to me at the time, will consider it next time. Hope you made it to porcelain Buddha in time.
They’d never agree. At least 30% in Congress are functionally retarded.
And those are the smart ones.
Why not an IQ test for Congress? GI’s have to take ASVAB’s or OQT’s. When I was between jobs, I had to take tests for several jobs for which I’d applied, including janitor, amusement park ride mechanic, office worker, landscaping maintenance supervisor…
I truly believe Congress and town drunk are the only jobs that don’t require a written test.
I’d rather see their credit scores and their net worth when they took office and what those are now.
^THIS x 1000000!
The proper response to something like that is always “You first”.
I didn’t take the SATs or ACTs so I could produce nothing. But these clever people – well, they’ve tried to entrap people before, haven’t they? And over what?
Present!
Global warming and Leftist tolerance are myths.
Have a great weekend y’all!
Well, it’s not snowing now, but it will be later.
I hope everyone has something going on in the crockpot or slow cooker for supper.
There is a (near outbreak) of Typhus going on in Los Angeles now, with (last count) 800+ people, many homeless, contracting it from fleas. The cynic in me says ‘send them flea collars’, but the other parts tell it to shut up, they aren’t feral cats. And you have to ask why, if other cities can find ways to get their homeless people off the streets, LA can’t just do the same thing.
The city of Austin spends millions every year on fixing the problem of homeless…
Every year the same homeless bums are still homeless and more have moved here because it’s easy to find drugs…
Austin has a 2% unemployment rate.
There is no reason for people to be without a job here.
A typical job interview for many jobs are the same as they were when I joined the US Army.
They held a mirror under my nose and did the turn your head and cough thingy…
They don’t even check for hernias here, just that the mirror fogs….
They’re have a rat infestation as well. One Good Idea Fairy had a good idea:
Deploy an ‘army of cats’ to catch L.A. City Hall’s rats? Not so fast
By Dakota Smith
LA times Link
The Stupid, it burns!
Things like this make me grateful I’ve done drugs.
The inspiration is no mystery.
We deploy cats to kill the rats, then dogs to kill the cats, then alligators to kill the dogs, and then rednecks to kill the ‘gators. It could turn LA County red.
In the spring and summer I wear a flea collar on each boot around my ankles, keeps the chiggers and ticks off.
I had a genius in my platoon try that around his neck. Once.
Hehehehehe.
I told him his neck wouldn’t burn if he wore them around his ankles.
Present, possibly accounted for! Congrats, Commish! Enjoy the weekend, dickweeds!
∞th!
The esteemed, er, steaming pile of lawer is still in a non-corporeal state.
Carry on!
And still maintaining minus 6 feet AGL.
Now he really has shown he can maintain an assigned altitude. He has been at that one for quite some time.
And doesn’t need an app for his iPad to check his airspeed, since that has been constant for over a year
Yes, I noticed his airspeed has not varied one whit since that last “landing.”
Terrain, terrain, pull up, pull up! terraisplat
And now, a short film. Take notes, there may be a quiz after.
Cliff notes Rev. 19 p 11
Range safety would have a stroke these days with that operation.
First in the hearts and minds of someone….
Overcast & chilly in the GB AO. Grandson had a good report on his ear checkup (follow-up issues to mastoiditis more than a year ago) and is free to resume playing like a normal 6-year-old boy.
Y’all have a great weekend, y’hea’?
At Casa de Sparky for the weekend.
Enjoying it while I can. Hope everyone does the same.
Number 54 and I award myself Honorary First once again.
(((OVER)))
In continuation from my post on the Midweek Open Thread. It seems the attempt to auction the sailing tanker Falls of Clyde has failed. Can she still be brought home to Scotland and made seaworthy again, given a second chance with another agency, or will she be scuttled or scrapped? https://www.facebook.com/savefallsofclyde/?epa=SEARCH_BOX https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falls_of_Clyde_(ship)
HERE’S a railcam for y’all, this week I offer Thomasville NC on their Norfolk Southern (NS) main line:
Just from speaking English, and even before reading the post, one should be able to understand most of that phrase without resorting to “Google Translate”.
It’s like picking some of what’s being said in Latin and the other romance languages just from speaking/understanding Spanish. 
Another first for SpaceX – they were successful in launching their unmanned Crew Dragon into orbit late last night/early this morning. “Ripley” is the sole occupant, loaded with sensors to see what stresses a manned crew may experience riding Crew Dragon on top of a Falcon 9 rocket.
https://spaceflightnow.com/2019/03/02/spacex-launches-first-crew-dragon-ferry-ship/
Docking with ISS is expected tomorrow morning – flight is scheduled to last until Friday, with splashdown in the Atlantic.
BTW – the first stage booster returned to land on the droneship “Of Course I Still Love You”. Launch and First Stage landing can be seen at the link
https://www.spacex.com/webcast
They launched today and they’re docking tomorrow?!
Why do these ‘scientists’ waste so much time ‘aligning’ flight paths?
It’s such a waste of fuel and time to perpetuate the stupid ‘oblate spheroid’, round Earth myth!!!!
WHAT DO THEY HOPE TO GAIN
EVERYONE KNOWS THE EARTH IS FLAT!
I’m just glad they could build something worth a sh*t that didn’t burn up it’s occupants. (Yet)
Ummm… Ripley???? Yeah, she can survive anything.
This week an ex-lawyer scumbag spoke some words out of his soon-to-be cockholster in front of an array of leaches.
Here’s a synopsis of what happened.
Warning: NSFW, 4-letter words, near perfect representation of Nancy Pelosi.
https://youtu.be/pZASwi3IxnI
Check out the rest of this dude’s vids, he’s freaking hilarious!
Just watched some of this guy’s videos. They are a scream. He has one on practically everything in the fake news for the past six months.
Glad I could share!
Finally…
“UC-Berkeley Police Arrest Suspect In Campus Attack On Conservative Activist”
https://www.foxnews.com/us/uc-berkeley-police-arrest-suspect-in-campus-attack-on-conservative-activist
“UC-Berkeley officials on Friday arrested a suspect who allegedly assaulted a conservative activist on campus last month.”
“Zachary Greenberg, 28, was arrested by university police about 1 p.m., after a judge issued an arrest warrant in the Feb. 19 attack on Hayden Williams, the school’s public affairs department said in a statement.”
“Arrest records from the sheriff’s office say Greenberg was charged with assault with a deadly weapon and attempting to cause great bodily injury.”
“Greenberg is being held on $30,000 bail and is scheduled to appear in court on Monday.”
“Greenberg is being held on $30,000 bail and is scheduled to appear in court on Monday.”
UC Bezerkley will provide legal aid to the two dirtbags, ban the victim and his organization from the campus and claim that the MAGA Hat wearing, brochure passing out racysss caused the entire incident.
14K comments and rising on the Fox Link. Checked out the other links embedded showing how the investigation was already closed when the popo decided they better do something. These idiots are going to push the wrong person soon, and they will find a reading from the good book of Brother John Moses Browning (Howitzer be his name) Rev. Chap 19 V 11.
Tanks AnotherPat, saw a blurb on this the other night and didn’t get a chance to peruse the whole thing. Your post helped me shortcut my way back to it.
rtr/godawgs/goarmy/beatnavy/againstill
ps made up a short batch of cat heads with some ground pork burgers & cheese. Hurt myself. The struggle was real.
Holy F**king S**t!
Do you think this is what Obummer was talking about?
World Peace and Unification Sanctuary is a church, some describe as a ‘cult’, where “worshippers [wear] bullet crowns and [tote] AR-15 rifles…”
Video:
https://youtu.be/ArfGyo6HQ_E
Article:
https://www.vox.com/2018/3/1/17067894/church-bullet-crowns-ar15-world-peace-unification-sanctuary-moonies-moon
Could you get cheap ammo and a brownie at their bake sale, cuz if so I’m game.
Bet they have one heck of a communion service too.
Guess oblowme didn’t have a problem with a Quran in one hand and an AK in the other.
Only a KJV and AR.
From over at Ace of Spades (the OTHER smart military blog), posted by Misanthropic Humanitarian – states the current situation of the country right now:
http://acecomments.mu.nu/?post=380030
Go for the article, stay for the comments.