Wolfgang Vogel, East German spy swapper, dies at 82

Wolfgang Vogel, a lawyer in Communist East Germany who became a wealthy man in the Cold War by opening cracks in the Berlin Wall to swap captured spies and release political prisoners, died Thursday. He was 82.
His second wife and former assistant, Helga, said he died after a long illness in Schliersee, the lakeside resort in the Bavarian Alps where they went to live after the wall came down in 1989 and Germany reunified a year later.
For three decades preceding reunification, Vogel was an operator who could pull strings in Moscow as effectively as in Washington, useful to each side because he was trusted by the other. He was taken into the confidence of Chancellor Helmut Schmidt of West Germany and into that of Erich Honecker, the Communist leader in East Berlin.
Vogel's first spy-swapping case began in 1959, when he represented an East German woman who said she was the wife of Rudolf Ivanovich Abel, a Soviet spy imprisoned in the United States.
Three years later, negotiations resulted in the exchange of Abel for the captured U.S. U-2 spy plane pilot Francis Gary Powers outside Berlin.


http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/08/24/europe/obits.php

 

Wow, this is sad.

 

Benedict Cumberbatch in the role of British spy Greville Wynne in new release film "IRONBARK" (USA title The Courier (2020)
was released in the U.S. a couple of days ago, and will be released in Gt. Britain later this year (2020). Greville Wynne was
arrested for spying while attending a trade fair in Budapest, Hungary in 1962. and imprisoned in the Soviet Union.
Mr Wynne was exchanged in 1964 for Konon Molody, a.k.a. Gordon Lonsdale, whom was sentenced to 25 years in Jail in the
U.K. for running the "Portland Spy Ring" which included spies Peter and Helen Kroger, Harry Haughton, and Ethel (Bunty) Gee.
Documents from the Portland underwater Weapons Establishment were being stolen by Haughton and Gee. and information
passed to the Krogers, living in Ruislip,who passed the information on the the U.S.S.R. Wolfgang Vogel was involved in brokering
the spy swap with Konon Molody Mr Wynne was released through the Heerstrasse border crossing near Staaken, East Berlin.
and then flown from West Berlin to Northolt airport near London Heathrow. He would leave Gt. Britain to live in the El Terreno
district of Palma, Mallorca, where he apart from enjoying the drink, had a flower export business. and wrote with a ghost writer
two books "The Man from Moscow" and "The Man from Odessa".He died in South Kensington, London, in 1990.

Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Vogel brokered many spy exchanges, The most famous was the Swap between Rudolf Abel, and Gary Powers
in 1962 , together with Student Fred Pryor. The story was portrayed in Spielberg's film "Bridge of Spies". Not all was it appeared
in the film, The exchange was to be for Powers, Pryor, and a third man, Mervin Makinen (An American caught spying in the Soviet
Union, using the guise of tourist, and given a car by the Americans, to photograph certain areas of interest for the C.I.A.
Vogel refused a three man swap for Abel (Real name William August Fisher, born 1903 in Benwell, Newcastle upon Tyne, U.K.)
Martin Makinen would have to wait a little time before his exchange.

"The Bridge of Spies" film showed Vogel driving a Volvo P1900. Not true. The car in the film was most probably produced by Jensen
in Britain, who built the Volvo P1900 for a time, but the particular model in the film was built after the spy swap. Vogel used a used
Mercedes, he had borrowed from a butcher friend for the Pryor release at checkpoint charlie. It was a very cold night, and Frank
Meehan, who had been involved in the exchange negotiations was invited to get into the car with Fred Pryor, whilst they waited
for Powers to be exchanged at the Glienecke Bridge. Vogel had a love for cars, and had a Wartburg, as works automobile, but
bought an Opel Rekord from a dealer in West Berlin, (paying cash in West German Marks) He wanted after a time to upgrade to
an Opel Kapitan. Eventually the Mercedes (Gold in colour) was the preferred transport. Vogel continued his affair with Mercedes,
becoming known as "The Man with the Golden Mercedes". Vogel would become famous for "Freikauf" This was a list of East Germans
who had tried to escape, and been caught, ending up in prison. and put to work, some producing Olivetti electric typewriters, or flat
pack furniture for a well known western brand. The freikauf list would allow them to be "Ransomed" or bought out by the West German
ministry of Intra German Affairs. This brought East Germany a lot of hard currency, which it needed, Vogel became very wealthy, along
with the other "Fat Cats" of the S.E.D. (Government party of the G.D.R.) The Office of Vogel at Reilerstrasse 4., would take on two
more lawyers. Herr Starkulla, and Herr Hartmann. Vogel continued to take the big cases, those that brought big money.

On 28th May 1987, Mathias Rust, a young West German private pilot, landed a Cessna near Red Square in Moscow. Two weeks
later on June 12th 1987, Ronald Reagan made his famous speech in West Berlin "Mr Gorbachev, Tear this Wall Down", and a few
weeks later, an East German friend tried to escape from Hungary to Yugoslavia, He was caught, as was a second friend who attempted
to swim part of the Baltic Sea from the East to the West. He too, was caught. It was the office of Wolfgang Vogel, that would reduce
the sentence. My Baltic Sea friend received 26 years in jail, and was defended by Dieter Starkulla. He was released when the wall
fell in November 1989.

I have visited the grave of Wolfgang Vogel several times at Schliersee, where Helga, his wife still lives. A visit to Hohenschoenhausen
in East Berlin, where interrogations of escapees took place, is a MUST for anyone visiting Berlin, and has an interest in the "Cold War",
and the story of betrayal of a whole nation by those whom governed it..

Lance Shippey

 

Wolfgang Vogel.
A little more information.
Wolfgang was married twice. His was divorced from his first wife, Eva. nee. Anlauf in 1966, They had 2 Children. Manfred and Lilo,
Eva and the children went to the West, The official line in the G.D.R. was that Eva was living with Lilo in Laipzig, and Manfred was
studying in Moscow, Their departure from East Germany was assisted by Swedish Opera Singer Carl Gustav Svingel, who was a
close friend of Wolfgang Vogel. Svingel lived at Haus Victoria, a retirement home which he owned an ran in Gruenewald, a very
upmarket suburb of West Berlin. Svingel enjoyed Swedish Consular privileges, and had a Consular shielded Porsche, then a Volvo
P1800, The cars were able to transport cash as payments for the release of East Germans through the Friekauf programme, He also
transported urgent drugs to East Berlin's Charite Hospital. There was an urgent need for medication due to a meningitis outbreak in
East Berlin. Haus Victoria became a "Safe House" for negotiations between East and West, and there was a secure telephone linking
the governments of the G.D.R. and the F.R.G. installed at the house. Vogel had a licence to practice law in both East and West
Germany,and able to cross easily through the wall.
The second wife of Wolfgang was Helga, nee. Fritsch, She came from Essen, West Germany, and met Wolfgang in 1968. She moved
to the G.D.R. as secretary to the Vogel Lawyers office at Reilerstrasse 4. in Friedrichsfelde, East Berlin. They married in 1974. Helga
now lives in Schliersee, Bavaria, and still has a love of heavy cars. When living in the East, Helga would often drive Wolfgang around
in the Golden Mercedes, although she had a Renault herself. I asked Frank Meehan, who was a junior political officer at the United
States Mission in West Berlin and became friend of the Vogels "Why Helga did the Driving". Frank thought that Wolfgang could keep
a clear head, when not having to concentrate on driving. Helga also understood English. The film "Bridge of Spies" focused on a rather
"Frosty" relationship between James Donovan and in Donovan's book "Strangers on the Bridge" gives a negative impression of Vogel.
Donovan did not speak German, and had to use Interpreter Duane Bruce in his dealings with Vogel. Frank Meehan spoke many
languages, including fluent German, but more importantly, both Vogel and Meehan were devout Catholics Faith was important to both
men, and found they could trust each other. On a visit to the U.S. ,Helga translated for Wolfgang.
Frank Meehan became Political Counsellor in the American Embassy in Bonn 1972-1975. Deputy Chief of Mission in Bonn 1977-79.
American Ambassador in Prague 1979-80, Ambassador to Poland 1980-83, and Ambassador to the G.D.R. 1985-88. His time in the
G.D.R. was during the Reagan visit to West Berlin and speech "Mr Gorbachev, Tear this wall Down".

The "Freikauf" programme resulted in 33,755 political prisoners being bought free by the West German government.bringing the GDR
Billions in hard currency.
There were 150 "Agents" or spies from 23 different countries exchanged.

The Stasi had 91,000 employees, and 170,000 unofficial informers. They reigned from Feb 8th 1950 until 17th Nov.1989.
At the end, one of them said, "Their whole lives are now seen as unproductive and inhuman, That hurts their human dignity"

Such arrogance and stupidity eventually brought the cruel and ignorant "Fat-Cats" to their knees. for which I am truly grateful.
There was no human dignity in what the S.E.D. and the Stasi did to its people. The leaders have no longer, a wall to hide behind..

Lance Shippey.
.

 

Wolfgang Vogel
Golden Mercedes recently sold, and finds its way to Leipzig.
The Golden Mercedes 300E registration IS-00-44 was sold in December 1919. and bought buy a dealer in Leipzig.
After the death of Wolfgang Vogel in 2008, the car was given to a friend in Bavaria, and left in his garage unused.
The Mercedes 300E with 160,000 Km's on the clock, and 180PS (HP) was in mint condition, fitted with airbags,
and in the trunk (Boot) had the original cleaning leather. The car is shown to have only one previous owner. It also
had an AEG mobile "telecar" CD452 phone fitted. More importantly it was also fitted with an extra pedal, far left
of the gas (accelerator) and brake pedals (Automatic transmission) The extra pedal , which was still operational
was for a siren. The car should has cost DMK75,000. in 1989, however cost DMK93,807 when bought via the
KoKo (Kommerzielle Koordinierung) in East Germany. This was a secret commercial enterprise, run by Stasi
Officer. Alexander Schalk-Golodkowski, and controlled by Erich Honecker, Erich Mielke, and Gunther Mittag.

"Mittag's" involvement in the procurement of cars was "Outed" after the downfall of the S.E.D. and fall of the
Wall. Some of the cars were,
7 Stretched Volvo Limousines Cost not given.
1981/1982 Range Rover Dmk212,765 58pfg
1982 Mercedes Benz Dmk114,776. 32pfg
1983 Mercedes Benz Dmk112,349. 65pfg
1983 Mercedes Benz Dmk.116,382. 70pfg
1986 Mercedes Benz Dmk 132,519. 68pfg.
1986 Range Rover Dmk 330.627 80pfg
1987 Range Rover Dmk 337.582. 35pfg
1988 Range Rover Dmk403,047. 00pfg
2 Land Rovers for Erich Honecker.
2 Daimler All Terrain vehicles for Erich Honecker.
3 ARO Romanian All Terrain vehicles, one with 6 seats. Free, given as gift from Ceausescu.
1 Lada Niva All Terrain, given to him by Leonid Brezhnev (1st. in GDR to be registered)
1 Citroen BX 1.6.
1 Toyota Silver Saloon. Was only used to take his dog to the Vet.
1 bright red Suzuki 4 wheel drive.
1 Toyota All terrain vehicle, used as a rabbit car, used on hunting day sat Honecker's estates.
Erich Honecker did not have a Drivers Licence. He did try to drive the All Terrain cars, but did
not have the skill to use the gear shift (Stick) The Toyota Silver Saloon was automatic, but he
used the brake and gas (accelerator) together at the same time, This in mind, he preferred to
be driven.
Each car had to be inspected before registered, and had to be checked out on the steering,
brakes, engine, that nothing had been "Tampered" with.. His Driver / Bodyguard carried a
Walther PPK., so too, did Honecker, and lost it one time in the forest. {never found}.
Morgot Honecker, Erich's 3rd wife had a drivers licence, but usually would use her Bodyguard/
Driver. On some of her visits "Shopping" she would drive her Wartburg, and also carried a
Walther weapon. She was know as the woman with the blue rinse, and the most hated woman
in the G.D.R.

After the second world war, the Russian occupation brought certain restrictions for the East Germans.
They were not allowed to build luxury cars. The Russians allowed the Czechoslovakians to do
this with companies like TATRA. The Hungarians were allowed to build Busses, and coaches,
from IKARUS. The East Germans were allowed to build Aircraft, under licence from Ilyushin in
the Soviet Union. and under the BAADE aircraft factory in Dresden. The only cars to be built in
the G.D.R. were the Wartburg, and Trabant..

Lance Shippey
were

 

Wofgang Vogel and his famous neighbours.

You may be thinking, where did the "Hard Currency" come from, to pay for the fleet of luxury cars,
enjoyed, and expected from the "Fat Cats" of the Communist regime in East Germany ?
The answer: Pulling the strings of Alexander Schalk-Golodkowski,was undoubtedly, East German
Leader, and Communist party chief Erich Honecker. Schalk-Golodowski became responsible for
Ko-Ko from 1966 to 1986. (Commercial Coordination for the Ministry of Foreign Trade. Part of the
remit was to confiscate property of private art collectors in the GDR through a division of the Ko-Ko
called "Kunst und Antiquitaten" ( Art and Antiques) They conducted secret grand sales of Art, and
Antiques that had been confiscated from the East Germany collectors, The BND, (West German
Intelligence) were through an informant , able to learn about the East German regime, stealing from
its own people. West German collectors knew that they could buy artwork on the cheap. Schalk-
Golodowski arraged that the dealers would be pick-up in buses from their luxury hotels in East
Berlin, Dresden, and Leipzig to a large specially built facility north of East Berlin, in the small town
of Muehlenbeck. It was half a hour drive on the autobahn to Berlin, and the border to the west.
The sales halls were built in 1973. and supplied by up to 10 truck loads a day. The deliveries were
quickly priced, and tagged. They would be paid for in Western currency. The East Germany lawful
owners of the confiscated goods would cry when the loot was taken from their homes.
Further "Hard Currency" was derived from arms dealings, and the sale of it's citizens through "Freikauf"
which bought in billions of West German Deutschmarks.

Alexander Schalk-Golodowlsky had a Russian father, and was a Bundeswehr (German Army) translator
during WW2, His nickname whilst serving the SED was "Dicker Alex" or "Fat Alex". He spoke with a
strong Berlin accent. He announced at the fall of the GDR, " Ick hab fuer die DDR gekaempft, und
wir haben am ende, verloren." (I have fought for the GDR, but in the end, we have lost) (The Berlin
accent uses Ick or Icke for "Ich" (I) and Hab for haben. (Have), He Fled the GDR in 1989. to West
Berlin, giving the statement " I left this part of the state to another, where I felt safer". This of course,
is his ability for "Stating the bloody obvious"

Golodowsky would leave West Berlin for pastures new in Bavaria, where he rented a house on the
shores of Tegernsee, in Rottach-Egern. He had an important neighbour. Mikhail Gorbachev also
bought a mansion in Rottach-Egern. . "Hubertus Schlossl" was purchased my Mr Gorbachev in 2006,
and recently put on the market by his daughter, Irena Virganskaya for 7 million euros.
After a move to a smaller property in Rottach-Egern, Golodowsky died on 21 June 2015. He is buried
at the Auferstehungs friedhof in Weissensee. The funeral was attended by around 150 people. They
included the son of Franz Josef Strauss, late president of Bavaria, and Egon Krenz, who took over
from Erich Honecker, before the collapse of the communist regime.

Was it the garage of Golodowski that housed the "Golden Mercedes" of Wolfgang Vogel ? Schliersee
is only a 19 minute drive from Rottach Egern on Tegernsee . I feel confident that the two men remained
friends.

Lance Shippey

 

Interesting there were Volvos and some other cars. When I was in DDR 1982 the word was that every city/village had spare parts for Mercedes because the diplomats had Mercedes Benz cars. And if you wanted to change your car´s spark plug ( other than Mercedes) it was changed but you could not be sure it was a new one. But it was changed....

 

Dear Kai-Petri.
Great Info. I guess that many of the foreign embassies in East Berlin, would have chosen Mercedes
as their Embassy car. The East German regime had an area of Pankow, called "Majakowskring as
their area for offices and houses. The German singer "Udo Lindenberg" had a famous song called
"Sonderzug nach Pankow" (Special train to Pankow). The regime were worried that the area was
not secure enough, so everything was moved 35kms north of Berlin called Wandlitz. There were
23 individual two story homes, shops, restaurants, bowling ally, hospital, sauna, There was a security
wall, 2 meters high. 800 security men guarded the establishment. It was built between 1958 and 1960.
and was referred to (Tongue in Cheek) as "Volvograd" in reference to the Soviet city of Volgograd, and
the GDR Political elite beginning to use the Volvo, rather than the Soviet "Chaika's. After the fall of
the regime, the area was converted into a rehabilitation and medical centre.

The cemetery where Alexander Schalk-Golodkowski is buried in Weissensee, is a district of Pankow.
There are two other Weissensee's one near Fussen, Bavaria, and one in Austria.

Lance Shippey.

 

Wolfgang Vogel and good food.
Prof, Dr. Vogel was said to have liked western cars, antique watches, and western suits, He was also
appreciative of good restaurants. East Germany had good food, mostly home grown, and organic produce.
For westerners entering East Germany, which a compulsory Dmk. 25.00 per day to be exchanged into
Ost Marks, at 1-1 rate of exchange, it was not difficult to use the money on an excellent meal in a local
restaurant. During the Abel / Powers / Pryor case, James Donovan wanted a recommendation for a
good restaurant, It was "Cousin Drewes" that suggested the "Johannishof" hotel, which had an excellent
restaurant, on Friedrichstrasse. Cousin Drewes, was not stranger to good restaurants. He was in fact a
Russian K.G.B. man, and with a real name Yuri Drozdov. He lived in a flat in Karlshorst, near the K.G.B.'s
headquarters in East Berlin. He spoke fluent German, English, and his mother tongue, Russian. Cousin
Drews, or Yuri, asked Donovan if he could join him for the meal.

Vogel was 33, when the Russians notified him of the Abel case, this was two years before Vogel had been
made aware of Fred Pryor. The K.G.B. had requested the Stasi to be go-between. Vogel had agreed, Dr.
Vogel had a code name which was "Georg", but he signed off as "Eva" James Donovan had a complete
distrust of Vogel, possibly, due to limited information he had received about him in the U.S. After meeting
him, he said that he looked liked an insurance salesmen. Vogel's Boss, the Attorney General Josef Streit
was loosing his patience, and said he would be grateful of a "Sensible American" like Frank Meehan, He
referred to Donovan as a "Jumped-up" Elitist. In the film "Bridge of Spies", the negotiator with Donovan
was Harry Ott. His office was at Schickelplatz in Berlin Mitte. and not as shown in the film, which were the
studios of R.B.I. (Radio Berlin International) or "Funkhaus Nalepastrasse" which was used to transmit
propaganda in foreign languages, including English on short wave. around the World. Broadcasting ceased
in 1991.Harry Ott was head of the department of foreign affairs.He became deputy foreign minister for the
G.D.R. at the United Nations from 1982 to 1988. He died in 2005. Josef Streit, the Attorney General was
the man that called the shots. When he gave the go ahead for both Powers, and Pryor to be swapped for
Abel, Prisoner 80016 was flown from the jail in Atlanta, on a Delta Airlines night flight to New York, then
transferred to a military Constellation leaving McGuire air force base for Berlin Templehof. Vogel was at
the same time, authorised to pick up Fred Pryor at Hohenshoenhauen prison before his release at
Checkpoint Charlie.

Lance Shippey.

 

I find the 'title' of spy swapper amusing - it conjures the picture of men at a convention doing trades like collectors of football cards. " I'll give you an Andre and a Cicero for a Sorge". "No I've already got too many Bonds - very common"

 

Dear ARWR,
I agree. This title was not mine and dates back 2008, from "higge.
Possibly better to use the German title of "Menschen Haendler"
or "People Dealer".

Lance Shippey

 

Wolfgang Vogel and the "Price Paid"."Freedom for Money"
The Freikauf fuer Devisen or" Freedom for Currency" started in 1963
1963 = 8 bought out., 1964 = 888 bought out, 1965 = 1,541 bought out,
1966 = 424, 1967 = 531, 1968 = 996, 1969 = 927, 1970 = 888, 1971 = 1375
1972 = 731, 1973 = 631, 1974 = 1053, 1975 = 1158, 1976 = 1439, 1977 = 1475
1978 = 1452, 1979 = 890, 1980 = 1036, 1981 = 1584, 1982 = 1491, 1983 = 1105,
1984 = 2236, 1985 = 2669, 1986 = 1450, 1987 = 1209, 1988 = 1048, 1989 = 1840
Total number of people bought out 31,775. Amount Paid 3,399,337,134 Dmk. 64pfg.
1 Euro is 1.95583 Dmk Some of the payments were made in goods, rather than cash.
The goods were consigned to the Stasi company " Intrac Handelsgeselldchaft" or
the Intrac Trading Company. which was part of the Ko-Ko department, run by Alexander
Schalk-Golodowski The goods that were not used directly by the GDR, were sold on
for hard currency. The money was paid into a special account of th "Staatsbank", and
from 1974 onward into the account of the "Generalsekretaerskonto" General secretary's
account. Erich Honecker. From 1963 to 1977 Price per person, freed. was Dmk.40,000
1978 to 1989 Dmk.95,847
For a consignment of 15 prisoners the GDR took 3 x trucks of Potash.in the 1960's.
One of the last consignments was worth Dmk.60 000,000 and contained
Oil = 27 million Dmk. Copper wire = 15 Million Dmk. 34 tonnes Silver 12 Million Dmk.,
Industrial Diamonds 6 Million Dmk.
The last consignment was a few days before unification on 24th September 1990. and
included 3.7 tonnes of Copper, 75 kilo tonnes of Oil, and 1,034 Vans. Shalk-Golodowski
wrote " West Germany are "True to their contract" for the last prisoners, that want to
go to the West. This Goods have a worth of 65 million Dmk.
Schalk Golodowsky would inform Erich Honecker before the goods would arrive, and on
26th June 1989 sent a letter to Honecker :

A. Schalk Berlin, 23.06.1989

Generalsekretaer des
Zentralkomitees der SED,

Genossen Erich Honecker,

Lieber Genossen Honecker !

Ich kann Dir mitteilen, dass es Montag, dem 26.06.1989 einee Vereinbarung ueber 60.0 mio VM
unterzeichnet wirt.

Bitte um Kenntnissenahme.
Mit kommunistisches Gruess


Alexander Schalk.

In English confirmation to Honecker, using Dear Comrade Honecker, I can tell you that agreement has
been signed for 60, million Dmk. Please be informed, With communist greetings, Alexander Schalk.


No more than one third of the yearly prisoner intake would be put up for ransome. They were convicted
of "Republikflucht" = Republic Escape, "Ungesetzlicher Grenzuebertritt" = Illegal border crossing.
and it the case of trying to escape and belong to the military, "Fahnenflucht" = Desertion For All three
would carry around 26 years in Jail. If espionage has was involved, It would have carried the Death
Sentence. however the Death Sentence was abolished in 1987. The Last execution was in 1981,in
Leipzig. Werner Teske was an intelligence Officer, who was planning to defect with sensitive information.
Death was by an "Unerwartete Kopfschuss" or a bullet to the back of the head, when not expecting it.
The West Germans had abolished the death sentence in 1949, (This of course did not apply to the "War
Crime" trials. This was the jurisdiction of the Allies, and they chose hanging. The west Germans had up
the 1949 the guillotine. Werner Taske's wife and family were not told of his execution, and found out after
the re-unification.

The Freikauf list was compiled in West Germany, and submitted to the East German lawyers office of
Vogel, Starkulla, and Hartmann. My dealings with Herr Dieter Starkulla was brief, but he was accessible,
if not somewhat arrogant when asking him how long my friend would have to remain in prison. He replied
"If we release them quickly, everyone will be trying to escape". My friend had tried to escape by swimming
part of the Baltic, with a fellow soldier of the "Nationale Volksarmee" which was compulsory 18 months
service since 1962 for men between 18 and 50. In 1987, there were 175300. young men in the Volkarmee.
My friends "Comrade" didn't make the Freikauf List. He was killed whilst in the waters of the Baltic.
I was told some years later, by a soldier whom had been on duty in Berlin, when the wall was about to fall,
and the army was to stop the uprising. He told me that some of the soldiers had no access to boots, and an
army cannot march without boots. so they refused to take part. The Wall fell, and my friend was released
in 1990. and had since then, lived in the West.

Lance Shippey

 

Just asking. Is it true that all the secret police members have their names public as well as their addresses in DDR. Those who followed and listened to you can betraced thus? I also read there were three times secret police forces in DDR than nazi Germany. We also know the Germans Make every happening with names on paper with detail. I don't doubt Money changing hands as there must be billions of nazi gold in Swiss vaults alone. Cannot the DDR police criminals or the military criminals thus be caught? We should have the criminals and names openly found as well as their addresses?? Correct me if I am wrong. I have no mercy for these criminals alive. My work friend's wife was from Schwerin who told me about things. Maybe not all?

 

Wolfgang Vogel's Golden Mercedes.
Gerrit Crummerl from Leipzig, the car dealer that bought Wolfgang Vogel Golden Mercedes in December 2019,
has just bought the Red VW Golf 11, registration number TKW 1-11 which belonged to Ice Skater "Katerina Witt"
from 1988 until 1993. Witt was born in Staaken, near East Berlin, and went to school in Karl Marx Stadt, now
renamed Chemnitz. She represented the GDR 1977 - 1988. Winner of many Gold medals throughout the World.
skating in the Olympics in Sarajevo in 1984, and Calgary in 1988. She also skated in the European and World
figure staking championships. Having "Special Privileges", she had unrestricted freedom to travel, and skated
for "Holiday on Ice" from which some of her takings went into the GDR kitty. She had a Stasi file from the age of
8. Her V.W was sold to a lady in the Chemnitz area by her father, and then turn up for sale, in perfect condition
in 2020. An interesting note about the East German, and Soviet skaters when appearing at championships in
Western countries was the "Flowers" thrown onto the ice, after the communist skaters would more than often
re-cycled during the evening. The East Germans and Russian spectators were generally staff. or families of staff
working at their Embassy. Regular citizens, would not have been able to travel to the West, let alone afford a ticket
for such event. Normally the Embassy, Stasi or KGB. would be seated together in one small row, and before
the Skater finished the performance, run to different parts of the ice rink to through the flowers. It would appear
that their were many different people showing their approval. The skater/s would then pick up the flowers from
the ice, and they would be returned to someone, who would return the same flowers to the row of communists.
The flowers made ready for the next one.

Lance Shippey

 

Dear Kai Petri
Thanks for your reply. I know a little about this. Most of the Stasi working at the Hohenschoenhausen
prison in East Berlin still live in specially built high rise apartment blocks very near the prison.They
receive good pensions, and live well.Some of the younger ones moved to get jobs in the security
industry in Western Germany. such as Airports. With regard to the money. A massive amount of
money was discovered in Liechtenstein a few years ago. If I remember, there were around 16 secret
accounts. It would be true that they would have had more police, than the nazis. Even members
the same families would betray each other. Some of the "Fat-Cats" were caught, and went to jail for
tax evasion, but only served short sentences. One of the arguments from the guilty was (after 1990)
"How can you in the West, prosecute someone from a country that no longer exists" ? I also have
no mercy for these people. In 1987 The Stasi had the intention to prevent my leaving from East Berlin
via Checkpoint Charlie to West Berlin, and Tegel Airport. After I got wind of something "Not-Kosher"
I changed my flight the day before, with the help of Finnair, (Whose staff I knew, and trusted) and
flew from Schoenefeld (East Berlin) to Helsinki, then on to London. rather than Checkpoint Charlie
and West Berlin's Tegel Airport. I learned from a friend in East Berlin that tried to escape from Hungary
to Yugoslavia, and was caught, that his Stasi files contained information regarding my hoped detention.
They apparently used the words "Sollte Gekidnapped Werden" Correct German would have been
"Entfuert" not sure why they used" Gekidnapped. werden."

Lance Shippey

 

Yep, I remember Tomba la Bomba was head over heels or so he said about Witt. Who would not have been....

 

Sorry to hear about these things Lance.

But as far I know you in case can or should be able to view your files and the people who listened to your phone or room, or were writing things about you ( enemy of the state or not..) and their addresses would also be available. The secret police should now be not so secret and you can visit them, I would think their crimes would possibly make them criminals in Germany these days. Anyway, the data they gathered is available for the DDR people to listen/read.

 

Concerned that Stasi officials were destroying the organization’s files, East German citizens occupied its main headquarters in Berlin on January 15, 1990. In 1991, after considerable debate, the unified German parliament (Bundestag) passed the Stasi Records Law, which granted to Germans and foreigners the right to view their Stasi files. By the early 21st century, nearly two million people had done so.

Stasi | East German government

Stasi - Wikipedia

STASI Prisons and Offices in Berlin and GDR | SightRaider

 

Dear Kai-Petri.
Thanks for the information, re. accessing my Stasi File. The commission which brought this about,
was called the Gauck commission, after a former Lutheran Pastor, Joachim Gauck. He became
President of Germany 2012 - 2017.,and was described by two newspapers in Germany as "The
President of Hearts", and "the better President". When the availability of the files became knowledge,
I decided not to request to see them, as did former U.S. Ambassador to East German Frank Meehan.
I have thought about it many times, which involves, after being given a date for viewing, going to
Berlin. I still may decide to do this.
Re. the" Eavesdropping." This was fairly common knowledge. Before the fall of the wall, the hotel in
East Germany were controlled by "Interhotel" They were controlled by the "Ministry for Security" (Stasi)
The Stasi monitored activities of International tourists. One of their activities was to send prostitutes to
audio and video controlled hotel rooms. Their focus was a 4 or 5 star hotels where political decisions
would be made. or business would be done by Western guests. The Bellevue Hotel in Dresden, was
one of the most famous "Stasi controlled hotels". Documents seized by the West German government
from the East German files revealed Unofficial workers for the Ministry for Security were :
Management x 6 Food / Beverage x 8
Reception x 7 Leisure areas x 3
Repairs x 1 Sales x 2
Kitchen x 1 Technical Services x 4
Intershop x 1 Outside building x 1
Purchasing x 2
Intershop was a GDR wide chain of shops, where big item Western goods could be purchased with only
hard currency. These shops would attract Western clients visiting the GDR, and was an opportunity for
the Stasi to pick up trade for their "Honey Traps". The Bellevue in Dresden, a 5 star hotel would attract
many "High Rollers" from the West, whom were attending performances at the World famous "Semper"
Opera house. This is most possibly why Putin was assigned by the KGB to a posting at their Angelika Str.
headquarters in Dresden. Putin's second daughter was born in Dreden in 1986. Putin and his 2 daughters
spoke good German, albeit His, with a strong Russian accent. He would take the family at weekend's to
the area called "Saechische Schweiz" (Sachsen Switzerland) in his Lada, and developed a taste for East
German beer, getting a "Beer Belly". The area was 45 minutes from Dresden, Beautiful scenery, and the
banks of the Elbe river. It main village was Bad Schandau, a spa village on the Elbe, Very important for
the Stasi, as they had a large office here, due to the village being on the road, rail, and river border with
Czechoslovakia. The Bellevue Hotel was surrounded by very angry East Germans, when the wall fell, and
found a massive surveillance centre at the hotel, with room of t.v monitors showing the inside of bedrooms.
The Palast Hotel in East Berlin was similar, The attraction to East Berlin for Westerns would be "Trade"
and also the Opera. which had a very large "Gay" Clientele at the bar under the Opera house. Homosexuality
in East Germany was decriminalised in 1968, To entrap a Westerner with the view of blackmailing was also
part of the Stasi remit. Hotels in Leipzig were also a great ground for the Stasi, and now has a Stasi
museum, Westerners were attacked by the Leipzig Fair. One way of trying to mitigate the bugging of the
room, was to turn on all the taps, and shower, and have conversations in the bathroom. The sound of water
would running would interfere with the sound waves. A more sophisticated method of eavesdropping was a
"Buran Device" which converts an infra red beam, aimed at a window, into an audio signal., which can be
listened to, and recorded. The Russians allegedly used this at the U.S. French, and British Embassies in Moscow.
The Americans patented a new piece of equipment in 2009 which is a Laser Microphone.

On Oct.11th and 12th. Mikhail Gorbachev and Ronald Reagan met for a Summit in Reykjavik, Iceland, The
venue for the summit was a beautiful house built in 1909 called HOFDI The summit was very important, as
the subject of the "Elimination of Nuclear weapons" was the reason for the two men getting together.
It achieved some, but not all of its objectives.
The Old house was the former home of the French Consul, and British embassy, before being sold to the
City of Reykjavik in 1958. The reason for the sale, was that the British had reported sighting a Ghost of a
number of occasions. I visited the house after the Summit, and was told by an Icelandic lady, that it was
chosen for the summit, as the basement or cellar, where the two men met for their conversations , was clear
of any bugging devises, and any form of "Eavesdropping" by other means was impossible.
There is a plaque commemorating the summit which reads.:
"This Summit Meeting is regarded as heralding the beginning of the ending of the Cold War."

Both Reagan and Gorbachev got on well, and Gorbachev spoke jokingly of a time in the USSR when drivers
were constantly breaking the speed limit, so he had ordered that offenders be arrested, and not just fined.
On one occasion when he was late for a meeting, whilst staying in his Dacha (Country House ) He told his
driver that he would drive himself, and his driver sit in the back seat. Speeding, he was stopped by the
police. The police office said " I don't know who the man in the back of the car is ?, but he must be pretty
important if Mr Gorbachev is driving him ".
On another occasion I met Sir Edward Heath, and mentioned to him, that I had enjoyed his book, especially
the piece about his meeting with Mr Gorbachev, when Mr Gorbachev said to Sir Ted." You should now buy
Russian." Heath replied, "well ,what have you to sell" Gorbachev replied "Wrist Watches, they are better
than Swiss ones, because, They go Faster". I don't think Sir Ted had much of sense of humour, but this I am
sure, gave him a chuckle. I look back with fond memories of the relationships between the three "Greats",
Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher, and Mikhail Gorbachev. In a class of their own, compared to politicians
nowadays. Some years ago, I translated a few words for a British Ambassador, He thank me, and said
"Under this Government and Prime Minister, we don't have to learn the language, so why bother. " I wish
of course, not to reveal the Government in office at that time. Ten years ago, I asked a former Ambassador
and High Commissioner of the 70's 80's and 90's what he thought of spies. his reply. "They are all
compulsive liars". I guess we must be thankful, that we are able surround ourselves with leaders and
politicians who only tell us the truth !!??

Lance Shippey.

 

Thanx Lance! We lived during the cold war period and it was every day possibility the nuclear warheads had left when you woke up. I remember the cruiser missiles entering Europe 1984 it was the end . Thankfully not.