The minister knows

November 05, 1985

A former girl friend and her parents (who went through the Stasi prison system as well) supported me vividly without me knowing.

They were incarcerated by the Stasi as well when they got caught in the act of fleeing the state.

My ex girl friend was 17 years of age when they tossed her into the clink.

After 17 months jail time they got ransomed by the West German Minister of Intra-German Relations through the West German government’s program to free political prisoners in communist East Germany.

They turned to this minister for help.

Apparently he was already aware.

I never found out who pointed the West German government to my case after my imprisonment.

But I am surely grateful as hell for anyone who fought for me while I was locked away.

From this encounter the Minister of Intra-German Relations and my friends started an ongoing dialogue.

On top my friends engaged in discussions with the lawyers on the West German side to try to have me released for bail.

It remains unclear which of the measures by my friends and the lawyers finally supported my case best.

And it doesn’t really matter as every single action helped.

In this letter the West German Minister of Intra-German Relations states that they have known about my situation and are trying everything in their power to influence the East German government.

However, their evaluation of the situation looked grim as the East was not ready to move.

They close their letter with a strong notion of care and secrecy.