Schumann

Photo by Peter Leibing

The dramatic picture shows Hans Conrad Schumann, 19, defecting from East Berlin on August 16, 1961, two days after East Germany had started to build the Berlin Wall to seal of its inhabitants from the West.

After the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, Schumann returned to his birthplace. He was not welcomed by his parents or siblings and shunned by the other inhabitants of his hometown for what he had done. Schumann hanged himself in 1998.

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Yesterday I woke up 20 minutes before the alarm went off, feeling well rested after a good nights sleep. I got to work at ten to eight and was focused, energetic and sociable all through my work day. When I left work to drive the 20 kilometers home it was like all the energy was drained out of me. I almost fell asleep twice during the short drive home.

I went to bed for a nap hoping I would feel better after that. Three hours later I woke up due to a nature call, logged into SecondLife to congratulate Apmel and send him his rezday present. Fifteen minutes later I was back in bed and slept through the night. All-in-all I slept thirteen hours and still felt exhausted when I woke up this morning. 

I wish I could also take a brave leap and change my future and circumstances (but with hopes of a better ending than Schumann got).

Hope to see you all tomorrow!