AllMovie

The title of the documentary Historical Encounters: Between the Lines - Escape from East Berlin is a literal one. It pertains to a controversial event that transpired on November 4, 1980, around the Berlin wall that separated Communist-ruled East Germany from democratic (and U.S.-supported) West Germany. On that date, one of the border guards stationed at the Wall, Egon Bunge, attempted to defect from East Germany to West Germany - and in the process, accidentally shot his border colleague, Ulrich Steinhauer. Thereafter, debates flared about the nature of that act - if it could be chalked up to self defense or actual homicide. As directed by Dirk Simon, this program explores the many nuances of the said crisis.