The lonely tram ride

Stasi prison April 14, 1985

6am.

Riding the tram to the railway station.
I’m alone in here.
It’s Sunday.

Leipzig Tatra Tram 1985 - interior

The letter has three functions:
To give proof that my parents knew nothing.
To give account of what led me to this point.
To apologize for their suffering that I will inflict now.

I feel horrible for them.
But they won’t know for a couple of days.
It was not uncommon that I spent a couple of days with friends.

Focus.
What’s the plan?
Take a train to Berlin.
Walk towards Checkpoint Charlie.
Lay down my ID card and demand passage.

THEY will arrest me.
THEY will punish me.
I will hunger strike in protest.
I have no idea where this will go.

I think about my best friends.
My girl friend.
I cry.

*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.