Heading for freedom in the BMW Isetta.

Munich. Thousands of exhibits in the Berlin Wall
Museum on Friedrichstrasse, Berlin, commemorate the history of the
once divided city, the tightly controlled border between East and West
and the people who sought their way to freedom against all odds. On
the upper floor near the window, which overlooks Checkpoint Charlie,
there is the smallest escape car ever used: a BMW Isetta. Klaus-Günter
Jacobi (79) regularly accompanies visitors through the museum as a
tourist guide. What only few people are aware of: Jacobi does not only
know all about many escape attempts, but that it was his idea to hide
a person inside the tiny bubble car and to cross the border with the
unnoticed passenger. This is how his best friend managed to escape
from East to West Berlin. 30 years after the fall of the Berlin wall,
BMW recounts the tale of Klaus-Günter Jacobi, his friend Manfred
Koster and the mini-car, which helped nine people escape the GDR. This
story is the plot of the movie “The Small Escape”, which will premiere
on 2 October 2019 as a TV spot, on Youtube and on other social media
channels of the BMW Group.

The elaborately produced blockbuster-style movie takes the audience
back to the year 1964. Jacobi’s family had already left the East of
the city in 1958, three years before the construction of the Berlin
wall. When his old friend Manfred Koster asked him to help him escape
from the GDR, he came up with a bold plan. His BMW Isetta was to serve
as the escape car. The moto-coupé measuring only 2.30 meters in length
and 1.40 meters in width would arouse little suspicion with the border
soldiers, or so he hoped. And even today it stills seems virtually
impossible to hide a person inside a BMW Isetta. The bubble car is
already a very tight fit for two people on the seats directly behind
the front door. The hiding place for his friend was built behind the
seat bench directly next to the engine. Car mechanic Jacobi carried
out the conversion in his former training workshop in
Berlin-Reinickendorf. He cut an opening into the trim behind the seat
bench, shifted the shelf upwards and removed the spare wheel, heating
and air filter. He also exchanged the 13-litre fuel tank for a 2-litre
canister to make space for the hidden passenger.

“The Small Escape” shows how the BMW Isetta was turned into an escape
car and how the risky border crossing played out. The thrilling
history lesson was produced by director Alex Feil, camera man Khaled
Mohtaseb and set designer Erwin Prieb in Hollywood blockbuster style. 
The props, costumes, vehicles and street sets were created in Budapest
to stage a faithful 1960s Berlin setting. A checkpoint complete with
wall and border strip was recreated resulting in an oppressive
atmosphere which continues to grow throughout the course of the film
to then culminate in a happy end. “Since their invention, automobiles
have brought freedom and self-determination to humankind. Cars bring
people together. This is something one should always also keep in mind
in the current debate. The movie emphasises this. The moving escape
story with the BMW Isetta can also be seen as a symbol of the
invaluable value cars and individual mobility can have. It’s all about
freedom, independence and dreams. Our movie recognises the drive and
courage of the people who made this successful escape possible”, says
Jens Thiemer, Head of BMW Brand Management.

On 23 May 1964, shortly before the border crossing closed on
midnight, the BMW Isetta converted by Klaus-Günter Jacobi, rolled
underneath the opened barrier. Shortly after crossing, he freed his
friend Manfred from his hiding place behind the seat bench and took
him in his arms delirious with joy. This was the only time Jacobi’s
BMW Isetta was used as an escape car, but his achievement was to
inspire imitators. Eight further GDR citizens managed to escape to the
West over the following years in a similarly converted BMW Isetta.
Today this car is on display in the Berlin Wall Museum. The movie “The
Small Escape” will also be a permanent exhibit of the permanent
exhibition on spectacular escape attempts.

The movie „The Small Escape“ can be watched on the BMW Group Youtube and other
channels. The detailed story of Klaus-Günter Jacob, his BMW Isetta and
the spectacular escape of his friend across the internal German border
is told on www.bmw.com.