Tunnel 29: The True Story of an Extraordinary Escape Beneath The Berlin Wall, Merriman - B

           When the Wall goes up in August, 1961, Joachim Rudolph is a twenty-two year old student in East Berlin. He has survived war, the death of his father, years of living in the rubble strewn city, and nonetheless has excelled in school. But because he never joined any of the socialist youth movements, his future is uncertain. He and his best friend, Manfred, decide they have to escape. They head south of the city, find a relatively quiet spot and walk across to freedom at night. Soon thereafter, Joachim is a student in West Berlin when he and Manfred  are recruited to help build a tunnel into the east. They scout out a place to start and on May 9, 1962, they begin to dig. They've studied the east side of the wall, have identified a building that is their goal, and estimate that it is 120 meters away. Progress is slow and money becomes an issue. One of the organizers learns that NBC News is looking for an escape story.  A deal is made. NBC will pay for the excavation in exchange for filming rights. As the tunnelers continue to work, in the east the Stasi are working just as hard. When the tunnel floods, the diggers try an alternative route. With informers everywhere and dozens alerted about an opportunity to leave, the secret is out, and on August 7, 1962, the Stasi round up 43 East Berliners who were hoping to escape. Joachim, who was leading the dig, barely escapes. They head back to their original tunnel and find it has dried out. They begin again. On Sept.14, once again with Joachim in the lead, the diggers break into a basement in East Berlin. They welcome 29 people and usher them to freedom. The story soon is a world wide headline, but there is so much anxiety about the secretive filming of the project that the US State Dept. criticizes NBC, which decides not to air it.  The State Dept. relents and NBC shows the film in December. It's a massive hit and the USIA is soon showing it around the world.  The following year, Jack Kennedy makes his famous 'Ich bin ein Berliner' speech, but it would be decades more before the Wall comes down.