Readership: General.

“This book is of historical importance. It describes the tensions created by a ruthless regime in a defenseless community, the feelings of helplessness as well as the resourcefulness of those who wanted to make a difference, and then had to escape under life-threatening conditions. No one at the time knew whether the tiny pinpricks of the protesters would help at all to bring about any change in a seemingly perpetual situation and whether the monolithic autocrats could maintain their communist rule forever. Indeed, only few could surmise that less than two decades would be needed to bring the cold war to an end. What happened should not be forgotten. Personal accounts such as the one here are real jewels.”

from the foreword by Gerard 't Hooft, Nobel laureate

“Rarely if ever does a world-famous scientist write a page-turning thriller every word of which is true! … This wonderful book is both a heartwarming tale and a historical testament.”

Sheldon Glashow

Nobel laureate

“This book, written by my collaborator Harald Fritzsch, describes his escape from East Germany in 1968 and the events in Leipzig that forced him to leave. He had organized a protest movement against the destruction of the 700-year-old Pauliner church in Leipzig. … Fritzsch's story is fascinating, significant, and well told.”

Murray Gell-Mann

Nobel laureate

“Fritzsch's book on his life in Leipzig and his escape to the West should be read by everybody, who is interested in the history of Germany in the twentieth century. The book looks like a criminal story, but it is a true story, written down after the fall of the Berlin wall.”

Helmut Kohl

ex-chancellor of Germany