My grandfather’s escape from East Germany
Wednesday, March 7, 2018 // The Statement
4B
Wednesday, March 7, 2018 // The Statement
5B
East to West
T
he year was 1960, and tear-
ing through the farmland
on his motorcycle was my
grandfather Helmut Krenz,
age 20. A few hours later, he would be
jailed in a cold East German prison cell,
imprisoned because he tried to escape
his authoritarian government.
Without the risks he would undertake
in the coming months, my mother would
have been born in East instead of West
Germany, and likely would not have
immigrated to the United States. I too
would likely not enjoy the opportunities
afforded to me today.
F
ollowing World War II, Ger-
many was split up “tempo-
rarily” by the four victorious
Allied powers for the pur-
poses of rebuilding. However, the Soviet
Union sought to permanently divide the
country between East Germany and West
Germany. Western soldiers looked east-
ward fearing another world war, while
Communist forces along the border also
looked eastward to prevent the state’s
own citizens from fleeing to freedom.
While the West reaped the benefits of
the Marshall Plan — United States aid to
rebuild Europe after World War II — and
a free market economy (what Germans
still refer to as the “economic miracle”),
the East regressed into a planned econ-
omy, the negative effects of which are
still evident decades later. Those who
lived in the East and had just been freed
from the horrors of the Nazis and the
Gestapo were again subjected to exploi-
tation and inhumane treatment at the
hands of the East German secret police,
the Stasi. Freedom of the press, religion,
speech and travel were all severely cur-
tailed, and citizen’s felt as though they
were constantly being watched.
Helmut’s formative years were spent
in this geopolitical hotbed, less than 50
miles from the Iron Curtain.
H
elmut was born in Ger-
many during World War
II, but the Krenz family
was forced by the Nazis
to relocate to what is now Poland. In
early 1945, caught between the enclos-
ing Soviets in the East and the Nazis in
the West, they became refugees and fled
through the brutally cold winter.
After months of running and living as
refugees, the family returned and set-
tled on farmland in Warlitz, East Ger-
many, desperately hoping the worst was
over. Helmut grew up working the farm,
feeding the animals and enjoying rela-
tively peaceful childhood years.
However, he slowly became aware
of the reality of the so-called German
“Democratic” Republic. Indoctrination
came first in the education system and
he was forced to submit to Marxist-
Leninist ideology in his classes. He felt
he couldn’t be open with his peers in
school or question anything he learned,
out of fear it would negatively affect his
prospects for employment.
The absence of economic freedom and
career mobility also contributed to the
desire to escape. The government man-
dated that he stay and contribute as a
farmer, but he knew he wanted to con-
tinue studying, obtain an education and
be free to choose his own profession.
In addition to limits on his educa-
tional and career prospects, the East
German state also actively persecuted
those practicing religion, particularly
Christians such as Helmut. The official
position of the ruling Socialist Unity
of Party of Germany was that Chris-
tian churches were foreign bodies and
had no place in a socialist state, whose
stated aim was an entirely atheist soci-
ety. Local church leaders were routinely
arrested and imprisoned and felt like the
Stasi was watching their every move.
Faced with these circumstances in
his teenage years was the first time he
had the yearning to leave the East. If cir-
cumstances allowed him to escape to the
West, he would take the risk for freedom.
H
elmut’s first opportunity
to escape arose shortly
after he turned 20 in the
fall of 1960. He would
travel to Berlin on his motorcycle, then
take the city tram in to meet up with fam-
ily friends and initially scout out the path
to the West. However, once on the Ber-
lin train system, the East German police
examined his passport and detained him.
He was taken to headquarters, locked
in a prison cell and interrogated for
hours. After this, the police confiscated
his passport and told him he was no lon-
ger allowed to travel outside of his home-
town. For weeks the Stasi watched and
periodically questioned him.
After seven weeks of this surveillance,
he was called to the local police station
in his hometown of Warlitz. The police
chief brought him up to his office and
initially appeared to be empathetic and
compassionate — promising Helmut a
good life if he subscribed to communist
ideology and did as he was told. The chief
even returned his passport, allowing him
to once again freely travel throughout
East Germany.
As the meeting was ending, however,
the chief coldly looked Helmut in the
eyes and said, “I give you one warning, if
we catch you on the way to Berlin anoth-
er time, then 10 years imprisonment is
sure for you.”
Helmut was stunned and frustrated
— he was no criminal, he simply wanted
freedom and a better life.
H
e would defy the govern-
ment’s
stern
warning
when he left home with
another would-be defec-
tor the day after Christmas in 1960. He
made the difficult choice to leave his
family behind, not knowing if he would
ever see them again. He left with noth-
ing but the clothes on his back and a
toothbrush; knowing if he carried any-
thing more, he would likely be stopped
and questioned.
In order to not arouse suspicion, he
first traveled to Leipzig, East Germa-
ny instead of going directly to Berlin,
spending Christmas at a conference
in the city to throw off anyone watch-
ing him as to his true intentions. On
Dec. 26, 1960, he planned to connect to
the central train station in East Berlin.
Before the Berlin Wall was constructed
in 1961, the trains in the city still ran
between the East and West under heavy
passport control once onboard the train.
This was the way he would theoretically
get to the West.
When setting out from Leipzig, the
friend he was traveling with decided sec-
onds before boarding the train he would
not attempt to escape given the immi-
nent danger. Helmut pleaded with him to
come aboard the train, but the doors sud-
denly slammed shut — leaving him alone
on his four-hour journey to Berlin.
Some people, especially Germans, are
familiar with the story of a young Mar-
tin Luther, who, facing death during
a lightning storm, pledged to become
a monk if he was spared. Knowing his
next stop could be prison, Helmut made
a similar pledge: To serve God if granted
his freedom against these insurmount-
able odds.
On the train, he found an open seat
across from a high-ranking East German
officer. When it came time to show pass-
ports, the border guards gave his only a
quick once-over look, figuring any young
man sitting near an officer surely did
not need to be checked. An overwhelm-
ing sense of relief came over him at that
moment, but he wasn’t safe yet.
Often times to their detriment, Ger-
mans are known for having a rigidly
hierarchical view of authority (the VW
emissions scandal is a perfect modern-
day example). Thankfully, the East Ger-
man hierarchy was alive and well on
this day.
Once in Berlin, he quickly followed the
dense crowds to the Berlin tram system.
He had memorized the map and knew he
had to get off at Gesundbrunnen, the sta-
tion in the West. He was scared to look at
or speak with anyone on the train, fearing
there were Stasi spies in the mix of com-
muters. It was highly unusual there was
no passport control on the train that day,
and when he reached Gesundbrunnen, he
jumped out of the train to freedom.
“No one can describe what that feeling
was like,” he said.
S
ince God held up his end of
the bargain, Helmut stuck to
his promise, eventually lead-
ing churches in West Germa-
ny, Switzerland and Sterling Heights,
Michigan as a pastor. Many have come
to Detroit seeking employment with
one of the “Big Three” — Chrysler, Ford
and General Motors — but he would joke
with people and tell them he was in town
to work for the “Big One” — God.
For Helmut, the so-called “American
Dream” was never about wealth accumu-
lation or status, but simply the opportu-
nity this country presented. His family
could live here in peace, free from gov-
ernment oversight, with access to great
schools. The Krenz family enjoyed simi-
lar freedom and a good life in Switzer-
land, but Helmut and his wife Isolde felt
it was time to move to Michigan for their
children’s educational benefit.
Helmut’s family did not have much
money and my mother, born in Erkelenz,
West Germany, didn’t know any English
after arriving in Michigan. When she
began fifth grade during her first school
year here, she could only read at a first
grade level. But my grandfather would
challenge them: “If other kids can do it,
you can too.” By the end of that first year,
she was ahead of the rest of the class
and reading at an eighth grade level. No
one in their family before them had a
formal college education. Through hard
work, my mother ended up receiving a
full scholarship to attend Wayne State
University.
In part because Helmut chose to leave
everything he knew behind on that fate-
ful day in 1960, two of his children went
on to receive doctorates, one became a
concert pianist, and another helps run a
business. I too have the opportunity to
now attend the University of Michigan as
a result.
I
n 2016, I had the opportunity to
travel to Berlin and retrace my
grandfather’s footsteps while
studying abroad. The train still
runs from the former East German cen-
tral station to Gesundbrunnen, the for-
mer station of liberation. As I sat there
riding through the city on that sunny
day, I thought about how blessed I am
that Helmut took the risk of escaping.
When he was 20 in Berlin, he faced
the prospect of at least a decade in
prison to obtain freedom, while my trip
was spent leisurely enjoying the city. He
had to watch his back to ensure the Stasi
didn’t tail him on the train; I simply had
to use Google Maps to find the correct
routes. He was forced to make life-defin-
ing decisions, I was faced with the choice
of whether I should sample a local curry-
wurst or grab McDonald’s for lunch.
This stark generational contrast is
thanks to the establishment of a free
society in Germany. So often we take our
liberty for granted, but we must remem-
ber it is a result of years of sacrifice and
striving toward equality, individualism,
representative government, peace and
freedom for all. I will likely never have to
risk my own life in order to secure these
ideals for future generations, but we
should be thankful many of our parents,
grandparents and families did before us.
Some escaped dictators, many fought in
the armed forces to keep us safe, while
countless others made daily sacrifices in
order to send their children to college or
move to a better neighborhood.
Sitting there in Berlin, I realized my
grandfather’s story of oppression and
journey to freedom influences the way I
see the world today. My belief that Amer-
ica should welcome immigrants fleeing
persecution, that individuals deserve to
take home more of their own paychecks
or that the size of government should be
limited, are rooted in the abuses Helmut
and countless others faced and still face
at the hands of authoritarian regimes in
North Korea, China, Venezuela, Russia
and elsewhere around the world.
T
his year marks 28 years
since the wall was torn
down — the same number
of years it was standing.
Thankfully my grandfather was able
to move through Berlin just months
before the East German government
shocked the world by constructing it
overnight in 1961. He knows it wouldn’t
have been possible for him to get out
once the structure was in place.
In a recent conversation with him, I
asked what his reaction was when the
Berlin Wall fell and his home country
was reunified in 1990.
He reiterated his belief that when-
ever a government attempts to stifle
people, that institution will ultimately
fail. The deep irony of East Germany’s
attempted repression of religion is that
the peaceful protest movement that
eventually led to the toppling of the
Berlin Wall began in churches.
Totalitarianism
eventually
fails
and gives way to mankind’s inherent
desire for self-government, but con-
scious strides must be made in order
for this to happen. While leaders like
U.S. President Ronald Reagan and
General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev
of the Soviet Union set the pendulum
of freedom into motion, the will and
belief of the millions of people were
eventually what pulled back the Iron
Curtain.
As one of the millions of people
who are fortunate enough to now
reap the benefits of living in this
free society, I feel an overwhelming
sense of responsibility to continue to
improve America as a beacon of hope
and a land of opportunity for all peo-
ple. Only through open dialogue and
mutual respect for one another can
we prevent the re-emergence of the
failed philosophies of the prior cen-
tury perpetrated in the Eastern bloc,
experienced by my grandfather and
countless others like him.
Courtesy of Caleb Chadwell
The Krenz Family in East Germany in 1948. Helmut is pictured front row, far right.
by Caleb Chadwell, Contributor
Courtesy of Caleb Chadwell
Gesundbrunnen Station in Berlin in 2016.