I was in psychological warfare in World War II, so I know psychological warfare when I see it.

The Wall was the actual symbol of a defeat, of inferiority.

A foreman in the East wouldn't know how many workers he would have the next day, because part of his working force had left the system to go to West Germany.

I not only saw the possibility of nuclear war, I feared it very much. If they started a military conflagration, it would automatically lead to nuclear warfare.

People who were not active in the intellectual life of the country could go on without feeling restricted, except they could not go where they wanted. They could not cross the border to the West whenever they liked.

Even in West Germany in the beginning, people wanted a kind of socialism.

If you live in a system that is suppressive, you don't walk upright, you always go with your head down.