Day 10: Hypothetical attempt to escape

Can you see the trees over there? He points at a row of oaks, approximately 100 meters in front of us.
We nod.
What do you reckon? How many seconds do you need to run from over there to where we stand now?
We start guessing.
Let´s say, I give you 25 seconds, o.k. This is plenty of time and you know you need to move quickly.

We are standing at one of the last four watchtowers, which have not been demolished after 1989. Before the wall came down, there have been several hundred of them. The guy talking to us is a volunteer, taking care of the watchtower and its little museum. He has about our age, that means, he must have lived the situation of divided Germany as a child - if at all. That leads to the conclusion that he must be really interested in that topic. He must have studied it somewhere, with somebody to later become a guide and to be able to pass knowledge on.

See that line over there, where the stairs are? Here was an electronic signal fence. Once you touched it, the alarm went on and you had about one minute to save your ass. You say you are quick? You´d better be it.
He grins. With his right hand he points out a cobblestoned line behind us, close to the waterline.
This is where the wall stood. 3,60 meters high. Let´s assume you brought a ladder with you. Say you managed until here.
We try to imagine.
Say you lean the ladder against the wall, climb up and even reach the top of the wall with your hands.

We know that at the top of the wall a concrete roll was attached. Touched, it moved to make everybody slip and loose grip. Working that out mentally, the guy proceeds.

Let´s pretend you were able to climb over the wall and drop down the other side. Any time left? Still unhurt?
We gasp for breath.
Tell you something?
Another grin.
We saw you already. Have been upstairs in the watchtower, me and my colleagues. We are just good tempered today. And whilst you slip into the water and try to cross the canal, you are either hurt by wire hidden in the water or shot.
He looks at us.
Now, bearing all that in mind – still wanna give it a try?

So many tried. Some even managed. Others managed and drowned later by exhaustion. It remains still unclear, how many lost their lives and have never been found.

Wanna see the tower now? Go on then.
His voice brings us back to reality. We enter the watchtower.

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