The Guardian of Liberty - Nemzetőr, 1983 (6. évfolyam, 1-6. szám)

1983-09-01 / 5. szám

BOOK REVIEW­ Young Rebel Tells His Story Made in GDR - Jugendszenen aus Ost-Berlin by Karl Winkler (OBERBAUMVERLAG, DM 19,80) This book gives us the illuminating memoirs of a young man who spent over a year in prison in East Germany on what any civilised society would consider absurd charges of sub­version, for example singing songs by Wolf Biermann. Winkler is both typical and exceptional. He is a typically rebellious young man who hates above all the static nature of "real socialism" (Soviet-style communism), which stems from the Marxist-Leninist belief that the Revolution creates the perfect, or at least potentially per­fect, society. It is this static quality which brings out above all what an impossible task communist youth organisations face. Winkler is however exceptional in that his parents were communists who originally emi­grated from West Germany to East Germany. His rebellion against the communist system is reinforced by his rebellion against his com­munist mother. "Mother", he writes in the book (p. 43) after receiving a letter from her in pri­son, "you have never understood me. You always wanted to force me into your schematic Party way of thinking." The letter to which this was his reaction said: "I only hope you have not committed any offence against the law and that you ... will be soon at liberty... Use this time to become rather more sensible." Winkler is also exceptional in the courageous defiance he showed when he first got into trouble, an attitude which made things worse for him, as he must have known it would. In addition, his experience with his inter­rogators has made him a shrewd observer of people in general. There are also interesting glimpses of other people, like the British publisher Robert Max­well. Winkler (ip. 53) relates how Erich Honecker, the East German leader, gave him an interview on the occasion of Maxwell’s publication of Honecker’s memoirs. In this interview Honecker said that since 12 WOULD-BE EMIGRANT JAILED Dr. Josif Begun, a 52-year-old teacher of Hebrew who has been campaigning for 13 years for the right to emigrate from the USSR, was sentenced on Octo­ber 14 to seven years’ imprisonment. His three-day trial at Vladimir was described by the Soviet authorities as "open". However, his wife and son were allowed into the courtroom only to hear him being sentenced for having compiled and disseminated "anti-Soviet" writings. VIETNAMESE ACCUSED... (Continued from page 11) growing poppies had been extended to more than 430 hectares. Even army units stationed there were cultivating opium. The Vietnamese Government rewarded peasant households who overfulfilled their opium produc­tion quotas. Chinese border guards had caught many Viet­namese drug smugglers and had confiscated large quantities of narcotics. AN OPPORTUNITY FOR YOUR FRIENDS: IF YOU HAVE friends who you think would be interested in THE GUARDIAN OF LIBERTY (Nemzetőr) we will gladly send specimen copies free of charge. All you need do is to fill in names addresses below and send them to us. We will do the rest. Please send specimen copies of THE GUARDIAN OF LIBERTY (Nemzetőr) to the following: 1. . . . 2. . . . 3. . . 4. . . SAKHAROV "NEEDS SURGERY" Academician Andrei Sakharov urgently needs heart surgery and has little chance of obtaining adequate treatment in the USSR, according to Vera Livchak, an exil­ed Soviet doctor. She stated this in evi­dence to a special panel of the Inter­national Commission of Jurists, meeting in Lisbon. A nuclear physicist, Dr. Sakharov was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1975 for his championship of human rights. The Soviet authorities have compelled him to live in Gorky, about 400 kilo­metres from his Moscow home, since January 22, 1980. the amnesty in 1979 there was not a single political prisoner in East Germany. Winkler refutes this impudent claim easily by reference to specific laws, some of which have actually been tightened since 1979, which can be used for catching people on almost THE GUARDIAN OF LIBERTY (NEMZETŐR) frfywhonttariflhtiofr— Arttck 18, Unfwnal Declaration of Human Mgta Edited by the Editorial Board Verleger, Herausgeber und Inhaber TIBOR KECSKÊSI TOLLAS Journalist, Schriftsteller, München Ferchenbachstraße 88, D-8000 München 50 GERMAN FEDERAL REPUBLIC Verantwortlicher Redak'enr (Editor): MIKLÓS VARY Ferchenbachstraße 88, D-8000 München 50 Druck (print): DANUBI A DRUCKEREI GMBH Ferchenbachstraße 88, D-8000 München 50 AFRICA REPRESENTATIVES & SALE CAMEROON: L. T. JOHNSON, Divisional Inspectorate of Education, NX AMBE, North West Province, United Rép. of CAMEROON. 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These laws include the one on which Winkler himself was being charged. As this example shows, Winkler’s book tell us a lot about East Germany; in addition it is written in a lively and youthful style which makes it absorbing reading. POP MUSICIAN IN PSYCHO-PRISON Valeri Barinov, leader of a six-member group of pop musicians called Trumpet Call, has been arrested in Leningrad and put in a psychiatric hospital. Earlier, he had recorded a rock opera about the life of Jesus Christ and had arranged for the tape to be taken out of the USSR. After the tape had been broadcast by the BBC’s World Service, Barinov receiv­ed about 70 letters of appreciation from Soviet listeners. SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER, 1983

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