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Hans Schulze

Hans Schulze was born in 1952 in Falkensee near Berlin. He worked for a West German chemical enterprise. One of his tasks was to organize projects in the GDR. In 1986, on his way to a book fair in Leipzig, Schulze met a woman, with whom he became romantically involved and wished to help escape the GDR.

He was unaware that she was an unofficial collaborator for the Ministry of State Security, which had targeted him. Though she herself wanted to leave the GDR, the Stasi was able to obtain significant information about Schulze. He was arrested and sentenced to two years and six months in prison because of various offences including “subversive man trade” and “betrayal of state secrets.” He was released early in 1987. Since 2013, he has offered guided tours through the Berlni-Hohenschönhausen Memorial.