Fresh air

Stasi prison April 19, 1985

Dirk is here.
Slim guy, my age, curly hair.
Need to find out whether I can trust him.

Interrogations finished earlier last night.
Baby Schubert is done with my past.
Started to “interpret" the 3-pager manifesto.

“What do you mean by ‘terrorist state’?”
“Mass surveillance, threatening opposition, etc.”
“Where do you get this untruthful information from?”
“Friends opposing the system, my own history, the news.”
“Your friends lie and you fell victim to imperialist propaganda!”

Baby Schubert doesn’t deserve my appreciation.
Calling in Bully Schubert to set the tone was pathetic.
Arguing, I felt in control as I hovered around the red line.

“So why don’t you obey the UN treaties you ratified?”
“Which ones?”
“UN charter, Helsinki 1975 protocol to name a few.”
“We follow all international norms - other than the West!”
“Where do YOU get your news from?”
“I’m asking the questions!”

“Will you eat?”
“No!”

Dirk was in the new cell when I came back.
Superficial exchange into the night.
He seems a bit weak as a guy.
Did they turn him?
To do what?

Surprise in the morning today:
Fresh air!

It’s ridiculous really:
Another baby faced call boy picks me up.
“Wear your jacket!”
“Why?”
“Because it’s chilly outside!”
“Outside?”

Dirk nods knowingly.
I’m led down the basement.
Out a back door into a cell without roof.

As a pre-trial Stasi prisoner in the "outside" yard you had about the same space available as inside in the cell. Through a mirror the guards watched and commanded to stay quiet.

Really, it’s like the same size and format but outside.
This seems like my new 30min routine now.
Daily or just Fridays?

Brick walls up to 15ft, a mirror in a corner.
But I can’t spot anyone watching from above.
Overcast, gray but it’s my first daylight in several days.

The fresh air almost knocks me off my feet.
I can hardly recover a trip.
My weakness grows.

Baby Schubert finishes his interpretation of the 3-pager.
I don’t care really: “I hate this country and the system!”
“I feel sorry for you as you are blinded by the West.”

Gladly!

*Testimony -> Start. This blog entry is part of a linear narrated testimony of the contemporary witness Jens Thieme who was imprisoned 1985-1986 as a political prisoner in various GDR prisons by the GDR Ministry of State Security. Stasi prison, Stasi jail, Stasi detention.