On the East side of Berlin, Germany, sat East Berlin, which was occupied by the Soviets. In the time period between 1952 and 1961, one million East Berliners escaped to the West. Tens of thousands of East Berliners had successfully departed by climbing over the wall, digging under the wall, obscuring themselves in cars, or another way to cross the border. Some even made it across in a hot air balloon without being detected by the soldiers. Others tried to jump out a window to cross the border. On October 22, 1961, an American official was heading to see the opera in East Berlin. (Berlin Wall Deconstructed- History.com, Video, You Tube, 2012).