About 25 years ago three of my friends were imprisoned in the former GDR. For us, having grown up in a free country, we saw no reason to lock them up, but rules were different in the eastern part of Germany.
It all started when one of them, Tina, was on vacation in Hungary and she also took her time to visit the embassy of the western part of Germany. Her question to them was simple; she wanted to find out how she could possibly move from the GDR to West Germany.
The recommendation she got was to return home and fill out an application with her request. She returned by air to Leipzig and was immediately arrested at the airport.
If I recall correctly, she was arrested for currency smuggling. The “currency” was an old German coin she had attached to her necklace. After long and tough interrogations, she was sentenced for 18 months as a political prisoner.
A chain reaction started and two more friends, C1 and C2, were arrested and imprisoned for political reasons. C1 did know about Tina’s desire to move, but she did not report it to the authorities, which was enough to put her behind bars.
C2 was in possession of a German translation of the Helsinki Agreement. The agreement was signed by the GDR, but to possess a copy was not allowed.
Tina had almost finished serving her time when West Germany finally paid a lot of money for her release. My wife and I had the opportunity to meet her after her release in Hamburg. I think it was Easter 1986 or 1987. It was a fantastic reunion and very touching to listen to her story.
Unfortunately we lost contact, perhaps because we moved around the world, and to search for Tina was difficult as her family name is very common in Germany. I searched on the web and did other research, but without any result.
A few days ago I received a comment on this blog (not published) and after some brief emails back and forth, I realized Tina had found me due to this blog.
Unexpected, but what a great surprise! Hopefully, we can get in contact with the other two girls as well.
For the time being, I am not sure if Tina is willing to share her story, but if so, I will do my very best to publish it in English.
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What a great story about Tina! It is especially moving in light of the 20th anniversary of German Reunification, which is about a week and a half away. I hope you find the 2 other ladies.
Lis, hopefully the story can be completed and corrected by herself. Her story and some others goes in the category "where real life surpasses the fantasy"
For sure we will celebrate the reunion with champagne
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