May 1987 · False papers and disguises
Thomas Mahler gives his passport to an East Berlin youth
In May 1987 Thomas Mahler, a law student from Wiesbaden visiting East Berlin with his scout group, gave his passport to a young East Berliner who looked like him. The youth got out; Mahler was arrested at the border when he tried to report his passport missing.
Thomas Mahler, born in Wiesbaden in 1956, was studying law and belonged to a West German scout group from Wiesbaden. In May 1987 the group visited East Berlin, where they met a group of young East Berliners; one of them wanted to go to the West, and the two young men looked alike. Mahler gave him his passport, and the youth used it to escape successfully.
Mahler planned to tell the controls that he had lost his passport, but the officials did not let him through; they arrested and questioned him. He was sentenced to two years and three months for 'Menschenhandel'. In November 1987 he was released to the Federal Republic under an amnesty and then completed his law exam.
Sources
- DDR-Zeitzeuge Thomas MahlerDDR-Zeitzeuge (Koordinierendes Zeitzeugenbüro, Gedenkstätte Berlin-Hohenschönhausen)
- Zeitzeuge Thomas Mahler: Schnapsidee mit Folgen (1)Zeitzeugen-Portal (Haus der Geschichte)
- Zeitzeuge Thomas Mahler: Schnapsidee mit Folgen (2)Zeitzeugen-Portal (Haus der Geschichte)
- Zeitzeuge Thomas Mahler: Weg in die FreiheitZeitzeugen-Portal (Haus der Geschichte)
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