Table of Contents.

Holiday Trip In The Eastern Europe, 1973

In one of many political discussions with Sixten, in the early 70's , I suggested that we would make a holiday trip in the Eastern Europe. I wanted a depiction of the conditions behind the "Iron Curtain". Sixten immediately dismissed my proposal. He argued that it would be impossible for him to get a visa because he was at that time a supporter of the West European variant of Communism. In July,1973, I saw a new opportunity to realize a trip. I suggested my then girlfriend that we would make a journey through East Germany, Czechoslovakia and Poland. Said and done. We visited cities like East Berlin, Prague and Stettin. When we went into East Berlin we were stopped by machine gun armed Police officers at the city limits. After having examined our passports and visas, it was immediately clear to us that we were not welcome. One of the officers, a female one, was considering a body search of my girlfriend. After the Officer had consulted her superiors we could escape this humiliation. We left East Germany as fast as we could. The receptions in Czechoslovakia and Poland were nicer. We were able to move freely and noted that the people we met were only sympathetic when we mentioned our nationality.

After returning home I reported my findings to Sixten. I mentioned the inhumane impression I got from East Germany, poverty (1800's of level ) on the Polish countryside, but that one could still discern traces from the “Prague Spring” in Czechoslovakia. The journey was in a way an acknowledgement of something I already knew - that the Communism is ineffective and inhumane.

At this time I had completed a university degree that included 60p Corporate Finance. For a long time I had realized the hopelessness of planned economy - i.e. one of the cornerstones of the Communist ideology.

Prior to the visit my girlfriend had suggested that I should read "The Day of the Jackal" a thriller novel written by Frederick Forsyth. The novel figure "The Jackal" is a professional murderer who is assigned to eliminate the French president Charles de Gaulle. It's believed that Forsyth's origin, when he created The Jackal, was the Venezuelan terrorist Ilyich Ramírez Sánchez.

   
     Ilyich Ramírez Sánchez                Friedrich Josias
                                                                  (1918 - 1998)

In the 70's the Prague Intercontinental Hotel was his second home. He was then under surveillance by the Czechoslovakian security service.


The Jackal pictured on a street in Prague by the Czechoslovakian security service.

My visit in the Eastern States was later used by the CIA to compromise me in connection with the Palme Murder. I was supposed to be a Communist spying on behalf of countries like Czechoslovakia. I have scrutinized my then girlfriend and found that she was a Nazi.