In their headlong rush to freedom, an East German family had left their eight-year-old son on the other side of the gate, which had now been closed.

BBC: How Hungary let East Germans go

When I reached my own cottage, I parked the rig in the lay-by opposite and let myself in through the side gate, coming across the garden to the back door, which was always left unlocked.

NEWYORKER: The Cold Outside