The very last hug

Stasi prison June 26, 1986

Rudolf is a mess.

Transport in the morning and he wasn’t on it.

That means that he will most likely leave this prison to the wrong side next week.

It also means that he might have to wait years or decades behind bars or outside to gain his freedom.

This prospect is too hard to keep inside, holding his hands while he cries.

We are all heartbroken.

Not much I can do.

Assurance of our friendship.

Activist plans in case I will suffer the same fate.

A bit of hope from the visit of my parents.

Was the last one for sure.

On this term.

Administrative building of the Naumburg Stasi prison. Prisoners arrived here and were processed. Visitors entered the prison through this tract.

Who knows if I’ll be back in a month for a much longer term.

It’s been almost 15 months and I am truly done waiting.

It might just be the beginning though.

Apparently the West German Minister of Intra-German Relations is quite active.

Lawyers from East and West ramped up negotiations.

Can there be hope?

I sucked up every word like a sponge.

Asked twice about the exact wording of the letters and phone calls.

There was a strange tension in the room that we all didn't want to address though.

While my folks would kill to have me back home and help me recover, my only pull is away from them.

I love them dearly, didn’t want to hurt them even more, so I tried to dimm myself down.

They also tried to slow their hopes to pick me up here at the gate next month.

This way we created a neutral space that our one hour visits took place in.

When I hugged them goodbye we knew: it could be the last hug.

For a very long time - or forever.

*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.