Heinz Meixner's Ingenious 1963 Escape from East Berlin with Fiancée and Her Mother

In 1963, Heinz Meixner, an Austrian lathe operator, executed a daring escape from East Berlin to the West with his fiancée, Margarete Thurau, and her mother. After falling in love while working in East Berlin, Meixner faced the obstacle that Margarete was denied permission to emigrate. To circumvent the Berlin Wall, he carefully devised a plan involving precise measurements of the checkpoint barriers. Pretending to have scooter trouble, he discovered the horizontal steel barrier at Checkpoint Charlie was 37.5 inches high. He chose a low-profile red Austin-Healey Sprite, adjusted its tires, and removed the windshield to reduce the height to 35.5 inches. On May 5, 1963, shortly after midnight, the escape unfolded: Margarete hid behind the driver’s seat, her mother was protected in the trunk with 30 bricks, and Meixner sped toward the border. Ignoring routine inspections, he accelerated and drove under the barrier with only about an inch of clearance, leaving behind 96-foot skid marks upon reaching West Berlin. The escape was successful and became legendary, later documented at the Mauermuseum. In response, East German authorities reinforced checkpoint barriers to prevent similar attempts in the future.

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World record 32.5% efficiency for perovskite tandem solar cell achieved by HZB

A group of researchers from Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) has achieved a new world efficiency record for a silicon-perovskite tandem solar cell, with a certified efficiency of 32.5%.