Konrad

Stasi prison September 25, 1985

Found the husband of one of mom’s new friends.

We are new bro’s now, he is five cells down the hall.

He also had heard about the new contact his wife had made.

A ‘veteran' of 12 months Konrad is hopeful to still leave this year.

He tried to flee across the border in a remote wooden area in Thuringia.

Border patrol caught him in the act jumping the first of three fences though.

Today he is happy as he did not know if there were landmines or self shooting installations.

No kids but a young marriage and they just couldn’t see starting a family in this place.

He drove city service trucks for a good salary but he constantly ran into trouble.

Konrad is set up quite well with a lot of cash, also smuggled in the same way my mom did.

Now I know who taught her and why they were rather relaxed about everything.

Bless Ramona, Konrad’s wife, she took my folks under her wings.

My arm is killing me.

Need to exchange the cash.

Konrad has his contacts among the criminals.

It might take a couple of days to wash it into the system.

For now I got someone to share my meal hours and stuff with.

At dinner we look at the chocolate powder containers and laugh.

I might not go on strike that quickly as I really enjoy his company.

Just don’t know how the arm will hold up at the machine.

It feels like sandpaper inside again.

*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.