conrad schumann made epic leap to freedom over "berlin wall" 50 years ago today!

it was a remarkable 50 years ago today, august 15, 1961, that conrad schumann lept over the barbed wire fence in east berling - that would shortly become the infamous berlin wall - to freedom in west berlin!  he was only 19 years old - and the nascent berlin wall was just 3 days in the making (still mostly barbed wire as the east germans began the process of creating the concrete wall).

this historic image was actually a still taken from the super 8mm film made photographer peter leibing as a crowd of on lookers shouted, "komm ruber!" - "come over!"  it has a special meaning for me because a poster of that image hangs in front of me here in my office as i write this post.  i purchased it in the then divided city, at the  checkpoint charlie museum, during the summer of 1984. it's been with me ever since.

it will always symbolize our innate desire to be free from tyranny!