Ms. Wetzel, when did you learn that there would be a new movie adaptation of your escape?
Petra Wetzel: We weren’t happy with the 1981 Hollywood movie. Six years ago, we got a call from Bully (editor’s note: director Michael “Bully” Herbig). I immediately said yes because his comedies are so great. I was sure he could do this, one hundred percent. He took us on board because he wanted to make a realistic film. We talked on the phone day and night.
How often have you seen the film?
Wetzel: Five times! I watched it in advance with Bully, when it was still the rough cut and details were missing and even then, I was in suspense from start to finish. At the end, I was covered in goose bumps and tears were running down my face – that’s never happened to me before.
Did a lot get lost due to it being shortened to movie length?
Wetzel: Bully made good cuts. The most important parts were there. They added a little extra action, but only to a minimal extent.
Speaking of action, you escaped at 2:30 AM in the dead of night.
Wetzel: That went like clockwork. On the day of our escape – and this isn’t in the film – our Stasi neighbour helped us without knowing it. He lent a hand pushing the gondola and the balloon from the Strelzyk’s basement onto the street. The balloon was hidden under a tarpaulin. It was finished that evening. Then we drove up to the Strelzyk’s house and from there went on by motorbike and car. We didn’t think much about it. The others prepared the balloon and hammered in the pegs. Then all that was left to do was “get on board.” I grabbed the kids and off we went.
Did someone in the group know how to fly a balloon?
Wetzel: Not really. As a technician, my husband could understand how it worked. He also had an inkling of what could go wrong, but he didn’t mention it.
During the flight quite a bit did go wrong.
Wetzel: Since a hook didn’t come loose, the balloon got stuck and started to burn. Frank Strelzyk pulled and pulled. Then the peg flew out and hit Frank right across his forehead. He bled so much, I’ll never forget that. Also, my husband wasn’t able to sew a cover on the balloon to let the hot air escape for the landing. So he sewed the balloon up at the top and that tore. Then the gas went out twice. It sounds silly, but in the cinema, I’m thinking, oh, I hope they make it. I sat there sweating until the end (laughs).
Were you afraid you’d be shot at on the border?
Wetzel: No. I looked after my sons, we sang songs. Then the gas went out again and the balloon turned and then no one knew where we were. Then we’re going down fast, striped the tall treetops and crash-landed at the edge of a field. We were very lucky. I always say that my father, who died in 1969, pushed the balloon over the trees. I didn’t sleep for six months after that.
Why?
Wetzel: In my dreams, just before we get to the trees, I wake up soaked in sweat. And I’m afraid of heights, even when I clean the windows on the first floor. Fortunately it was dark during the flight.
How did you feel when you realised you’d made it?
Wetzel: We weren’t even able to process it. The police chief in Naila in Bavaria planned to go into retirement the next day. They woke him up and said a balloon with eight people in it had landed. He said, “Yeah, I’m coming,” but thought obviously it’s a prank they’re playing. They also decided to put us up in the Red Cross hall. There was an exercise planned for that night and they also thought it was a joke. In Naila there was a garden party going on until the early morning hours. People told us they thought the UFOs were coming when they saw the lights from the balloon (laughs).
What were the reasons you escaped?
Wetzel: For me it was my foster mother. She went to Nuremberg in 1974 to stay with my sister and because she was “just” my foster mother, I wasn’t allowed to visit her. Then she had several heart attacks. If anything had happened, I would never have seen her again. That was the reason why I wanted to leave.
Why did you escape in a hot air balloon, of all things?
Wetzel: Back then, my sister used to smuggle things in one of those double backpacks when she came from Nuremberg. One was a newspaper with an article about balloon rides. That’s how the men came up with the idea. They were always debating how we could escape. We would never have fled on foot. To put our lives and our children’s lives at risk – you can’t cross the border with automatic firing systems and minefields. That’s just kamikaze. You can decide that on your own, but not with children.
How acute are your memories of the images, fears and hopes of back then?
Wetzel: Back then, I tried to forget about it quickly. I’ll never get in a hot air balloon again. As beautiful as it is and as great as it looks, that experience was enough for me. The burning balloon, seeing Frank bleeding and then holding the children in my arms – that was enough. The memories only came back with the film; when we were talking with Bully about it.
About Petra Wetzel
Petra Wetzel was born in 1955 in Pössneck (Thuringia), where she lived until her escape in a hot air balloon. She trained as a metal quality control technician in secondary school. She met her husband Günter Wetzel in 1972. They have two sons, Peter and Andreas. The family lives in Bavaria.
interview "1979 mit Heißluftballon aus DDR geflohen" by Björn Friedrichs for Hessische/Niedersächsische Allgemeine, 2 November 2018, abridged and translated with permission
image: Alicia von Rittberg as Petra Wetzel in BALLON, courtesy Studiocanal
