In captivity

After several failed escape attempts and after pleading guilty, Frank Plunze was convicted “as a terrorist under section 101 and 218” for trying to illegally cross the border. On August 30, 1982, he was imprisoned in Torgau. Plunze recalls: “There I spent almost five years under the worst conditions you can imagine. They employed the complete repertoire, including physical and mental torture. In the winter they would sprinkle us with water from a hosepipe used by the firefighters. Then they divided the cell into sectors. This practice was called ‘kurzschließen‘ (to ‘short circuit’). What they did was basically to separate the space of the cell where the toilet, the shower, the sink, and the heater were located. In this way, you were left to live in the remaining space of the cell. They turned off the heater and left you in the cell soaking wet in the winter.” While in solitary confinement, he was kept alive by his dreams about travelling to the USA and seeing an Udo Lindenberg concert.