8 days between the borders

Since the late 1960s, Gerhard Hoch worked as a police officer at the border crossing Furth im Wald, where he had a chance to witness the brutality of the border controls. Once a Roma family wanted to travel from Czechoslovakia to the Federal Republic of Germany. The Czechoslovak officials let them pass but the Bavarian officials would not let them enter Germany as they had no visa for Germany. However, the Czechoslovak officials would not let them go back to Czechoslovakia anymore. Thus the family was caught between the two borders and none of the two countries would let them in: “They camped for eight days between the two borders. We provided them with food and drinking water but they were not allowed to enter Germany.” The Red Cross intervened and eventually the family was received by Austria.