1970
Mario is here
In the early 1970s, the GDR’s guiding phrase was the “unity of economic and social policy”.…
Read chapter →Biography and prison history
My story
Here, I tell of my origins, growing up in East Germany, my wish for freedom, my arrest on 14 February 1989 and the months of political imprisonment.
1976
My first day at school in East Germany
The school year in East Germany always began on 1 September or on the following Monday.…
Read chapter →1988
Fashion and my dream of Paris
During my training as a tailor, my designs were published in Junge Welt and won an award at its readers’ fashion show. This success strengthened my dream of Paris and a free life.…
Read chapter →1989
My arrest
As I worked, my gaze kept drifting towards the street, where the early daylight was slowly breaking through the winter greyness.…
Read chapter →1989
Top secret: my case in the Stasi daily report
Just one day after my arrest, my planned journey to freedom was recorded centrally in a top secret Stasi daily report.…
Read chapter →1989
Stasi surveillance of gay people
“Obst is homosexual.” This note represents the East German Stasi’s treatment of homosexual people.…
Read chapter →1989
No secret — yet still on file
I came out to my school class at 14. Years later, the state apparatus recorded my homosexuality in a single sentence: “Obst is homosexual.”…
Read chapter →1989
The verdict: in the name of the people
As early as 1988, like many others before him, he drew up an escape plan to reach West Germany.…
Read chapter →1989
Emigration directly from prison
Although I had never applied to emigrate, the Stasi reviewed and approved my permanent departure for West Germany directly from prison in June 1989.…
Read chapter →1989
Until 20 October 1989
While I sat in isolation in Karl-Marx-Stadt, my release directly to West Germany had long been prepared on paper. On 20 October, I learnt of it — without explanation and under guard.…
Read chapter →1993
My rehabilitation
On 21 April 1993, Erfurt District Court overturned the 1989 judgment against me. Five documents show the process leading to my rehabilitation.…
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