Journey on a smaller submarine traversing the Baltic Sea's depths

In the calm waters of the Baltic Sea on the night of September 7 to 8, 1968, an extraordinary event unfolded. A young inventor named Bernd Böttger, hailing from Saxony, was making a daring escape from East Germany using a unique invention he called the "Aqua Scooter."

Bernd Böttger, a passionate tinkerer in his youth, had attracted the attention of the East German Stasi due to his experiments. He had registered at the Wohlenberger Wiek campsite in Boltenhagen, the last place on the East German coast where vacationers were allowed to go, on June 28, 1967.

On that fateful night in September, Bernd Böttger boarded a Danish ship. His unusual movement in the water was noticed by a Danish naval officer, Christian Christiansen, around 4 a.m. He heard cries for help and came to Bernd's aid.

Bernd introduced himself as a man from Sebnitz near Dresden and was holding a strange device, which he later named the "Aqua Scooter." He claimed his invention was intended for water rescue, but Western companies showed great interest in it for mass production.

Despite the charges levied against him, Bernd denied any wrongdoing. He was arrested on July 7, 1968, at the steep coast between Boltenhagen and Redwisch. Bernd's story made headlines, with newspapers like the "New Review" hailing it as "the most daring escape of 1968."

Bernd Böttger gained international fame upon arriving in Denmark on September 8, 1968. He presented his invention on TV shows and at exhibitions in West Germany. The court handed down a lenient sentence: eight months' probation.

Bernd's "Aqua Scooter" was a remarkable feat of engineering for the 1960s. He chose a gasoline engine for the device due to the scarcity of powerful batteries at the time. He even used a popular "chicken-terror" motor, the most common bicycle auxiliary motor in East Germany from 1954 to 1959, for his invention.

The "Aqua Scooter," first produced in series in the 1970s, gained worldwide popularity. However, Bernd's life ended tragically under mysterious circumstances. He died in a diving accident in Spain on August 27, 1972.

Despite extensive searches, there is no available information about the name of the Danish naval officer who discovered and rescued Bernd Böttger during his escape from the GDR. Bernd's story remains a testament to the power of ingenuity and the human spirit's resilience in the face of adversity.