ABSTRACT

Those who had spent their entire adult life in the German Democratic Republic (GDR) had been purposefully formed—constituted—by the communist controlled regime and, most particularly, its elaborate Stasi apparatus. At reunification, two distinct groups of Germans could not possibly imagine how different they had become. The GDR government had a separate protocol when it promoted its role in the international community. Border passes were issued for travel along carefully prescribed routes to allow attendance at government sponsored international conferences and exhibitions. Straying from those designated routes was strictly forbidden and could result in arrest. Those who succumbed to the enduring grip of Heimat often lost sight of the risks their surreptitious side trips could bring to those they visited. In the GDR, seats at official dinners were always assigned and he was seated next to a particularly important senior GDR military officer.