Lawyers in East and West

Stasi prison March 01, 1986

Long awaited visit by my parents yesterday. 

Mom cried when they entered the visitation room.

“You look horrible and your hair turned grey, what happened?”

“Little stint in dark arrest but I spent my time playing theatre plays and chess, don’t worry!” 

“Oh, this is why they turned us down for the last visit, we were worried beyond reason!”

“Everything is as always, they just punished me for not enslaving myself, that’s all.”

Apparently they denied entry without explanation 5 weeks ago. 

My parents did not know anything about my whereabouts or wellbeing.

Must have been tremendous stress on them not knowing what had happened.

They saw several lawyers meanwhile. 

Briefly Wolfgang Vogel, Berlin and his partner Dieter Starkulla.

They assured them that my case is negotiated between the East and the West for ransom bail.

The key lawyer in the GDR political prisoner ransom trading: Wolfgang Vogel meeting with chancellor Helmut Kohl.

A new name pops up: Lothar Jarosch, based in Leipzig. 

He’ll be the point of contact moving forward.

Two West German lawyers too:

Barbara von der Schulenburg, Munich and Wolf-Egbert Näumann, West Berlin.

Seems that the machinery is in motion.

No progress however.

Got a new bro: Rudolf.

He’s from the neighbour cell so we won’t share all meals.

Like him for his wits, bohemian attitude and style of almost artful conversation.

We spend afternoons with quoting books, daydreaming about our inspiring lives in the West.

His 12 months sentence ends early July after he wrote a protest letter threatening action.

Sharing all the news from the lawyers front with the cell mates, they eat up all the details.

*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.