26 May 1989 · Aircraft and balloons
Ultralight flight from Treptower Park to the Reichstag
Two brothers who had already fled flew ultralight aircraft from West Berlin into Treptower Park at dawn, picked up their youngest brother Egbert and landed in front of the Reichstag.
By 1989 Ingo and Holger Bethke were both living in the West, while their youngest brother Egbert remained in East Germany. Ingo and Holger sold their pub in Cologne and used the money to buy two Ikarus C22 ultralight aircraft, which they painted in camouflage with red stars to look like Soviet machines.
In the early morning of 26 May 1989 the brothers took off from West Berlin and flew over the Wall into East Berlin. They landed in Treptower Park, where Egbert was hiding in the bushes and ran to the waiting aircraft.
All three then flew back over the border and landed on the meadow in front of the Reichstag building in West Berlin. The operation in East Berlin took only minutes, and the brothers left the aircraft standing in front of the Reichstag.
Sources
- Mit dem Motordrachen über die MauerDer Tagesspiegel
- Bethke brothersWikipedia
- Flucht der Brüder BethkeBerliner Mauer Karte (berlinwallmap.info)
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