30 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, BMW tells the story of a thirst for freedom, ingenuity and engineering skill - Nine people once managed to escape across the inner-German border behind the seat of the tiny motor coupe - The film "The Small Escape" celebrates its premiere on YouTube and social networks on October 2, 2019.
The escape over the Berlin Wall - With the BMW Isetta as an escape vehicle
Munich. In the Wall Museum on Berlin's Friedrichstrasse, thousands of exhibits recall the history of the once divided city, the closely guarded border line between East and West and the people who nevertheless fearlessly sought their way to freedom. On the top floor by the window with a view of Checkpoint Charlie is the smallest escape vehicle ever used for this purpose: a BMW Isetta. Klaus-Günter Jacobi (79) regularly accompanies visitors through the museum rooms as a tourist guide. What few people know: Jacobi not only knows the details of numerous escape attempts, he also came up with the idea of hiding a person inside the tiny motor coupé and crossing the border with him undetected. His best buddy managed to escape from East to West Berlin this way. 30 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, BMW is now telling the story of Klaus-Günter Jacobi, his friend Manfred Koster and the tiny car that helped a total of nine people escape from the GDR. It can be seen in the film "The Small Escape", which premiered on October 2, 2019, and will be shown as a TV commercial as well as on YouTube and other BMW Group social media channels.
Isetta specially converted for the escape
This elaborately staged film, produced in the style of a movie thriller, takes the audience back to 1964. Jacobi's family had already left the east of the city in 1958, three years before the Wall was built. When his long-time friend Manfred Koster asked him for help to escape from the GDR, he came up with a bold plan. His BMW Isetta was to serve as an escape vehicle. The calculation was that the motor coupé, which was only 2.30 meters long and 1.40 meters wide, would hardly arouse any suspicion among the border guards. And indeed, even today it still seems almost impossible to hide a person inside a BMW Isetta. After all, the "Knutschkugel" on wheels barely offers enough space for two occupants in the designated seats behind the front door. The hiding place for the friend from the East was therefore created behind the seat directly next to the engine. In his former training workshop in Berlin-Reinickendorf, car mechanic Jacobi was able to make the necessary modifications. He cut an access opening in the cover behind the seat bench, moved the shelf upwards and removed the spare wheel, heater and air filter. He also replaced the 13-liter tank with a two-liter canister to make room for the hidden passenger.
The moving escape story as a movie
"The Small Escape" shows how the BMW Isetta became a getaway car and how the risky drive across the border crossing succeeded. Director Alex Feil, cameraman Khaled Mohtaseb and production designer Erwin Prieb staged this exciting history lesson in Hollywood style. In Budapest, props, costumes, vehicles and street views were used to create a faithful reproduction of 1960s Berlin. The replica of a checkpoint, complete with wall and border strip, creates an oppressive atmosphere that builds and builds throughout the film and finally resolves in a happy ending. "Since their invention, cars have brought people freedom and self-determination. Cars bring people together. This should always be kept in mind in the current debate. This film underlines this. The moving escape story with the help of the BMW Isetta is also symbolic of the inestimable value that cars and the possibility of individual mobility can have - it's about freedom, independence and dreams. Our film pays tribute to the drive and courage of the people who made this successful escape possible back then," says Jens Thiemer, Head of Brand Management at BMW.
Converted Isetta as a role model for other fugitives
On May 23, 1964, shortly before the border crossing closed at midnight, the BMW Isetta converted by Klaus-Günter Jacobi rolled under the open barrier. Shortly afterwards, he was able to free his buddy Manfred from his hiding place behind the bench seat and embrace him, drunk with joy. This was the only time Jacobi's BMW Isetta was used as a getaway vehicle, but his coup was to be copied. In the years that followed, eight other GDR citizens managed to escape to the West in a similarly converted BMW Isetta. This vehicle can be seen today in the Berlin Wall Museum. In future, the film "The Small Escape" will also become a permanent part of the permanent exhibition about spectacular escape attempts.
The film "The Small Escape" can be seen on the BMW YouTube channel, among other places. The detailed story about Klaus-Günter Jacobi, his BMW Isetta and his friend's spectacular escape across the German-German border is told at www.bmw.com.
"The Small Escape"
Here you can find the related movie "The Small Escape".
