Thinking Global
Jun 13, 2011
Berlin 1961: Berlin Wall’s First Victim
By
Frederick Kempe
Günter Litfin, a twenty-four-year-old tailor whose boldest acts until that point had been performed with a needle and thread, summoned the courage to flee East Berlin eleven days after the communists had sealed the border. Until August 13, Litfin had lived divided Berlin’s ideal life, taking maximum advantage of each side’s benefits as one […]