2 East Germans escape across the Berlin wall

November 24, 1980

Two East Germans dodged gunfire from border guards to escape across the Berlin wall, but a third was felled by bullets, West Berlin police said. French military administrators of the sector where the early-morning escape took place filed a formal protest against the shooting with East German authorities, a spokesman said.

Some 3,500 people fled East Germany last year, according to a West Berlin refugee aid organization