Manfred Casper provided an entertaining and interesting account as a contemporary witness: He told about his life in the GDR, about fond memories and experiences and described how he developed into a young person with a critical view of the system who ultimately wanted to leave the GDR and was imprisoned at the age of 18 after failing to escape the Republic. He supported his tales with excerpts from his extensive Stasi files, which had been created due to suspicion of him helping others to escape later on and continued to be processed until 1989.
The speaker also drew parallels with the present to ask what we could learn from history. The listeners – those with their own experiences of the Stasi regime and those who had encountered the GDR border soldiers in the border region, along with listeners who were simply interested in the history of Germany’s division, hung on Mr Casper’s every word and proved to be enthusiastic participants in the discussions that followed.
Manfred Casper complemented the lecture with excerpts from his autobiographical report “Vom Wachsen der Flügel”. Following his tales, his book was purchased many times by those present. The author was also on hand for signings of his book. More can be found about his book at www.vomwachsenderfluegel.de.
BUTTING – more than pipes – for a better quality of life