Mario stands fully visible in a simple charcoal jacket and open-collared light shirt beside a walnut desk. An open file, reading glasses, archive boxes and an illuminated cabinet furnish the quiet, newly imagined room of remembrance. Outside is the alien botanical world beneath a ringed planet.

A PLACE FOR MY STORY

Remembering.
Holding on
to freedom.

Personal memories and original documents.
Mario shares his story with you.

Explore the objects

10 / The room of remembrance

A room to stay in. A world to discover.

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THE DOOR IS OPEN

A personal journey.
In four languages.

I was arrested in 1989, aged 18. My Stasi file comprised 975 pages. Here I share my story and original documents. The open file on the desk leads to the German website; below, you can also find the English, Spanish and Hungarian versions.

01 / My story · German

My story in German

Memories, original documents and my work as a contemporary witness. Read in German.

Open project 02 / English

My story

Read my story in English.

Open project 03 / Español

Mi historia

Read my story in Spanish.

Open project 04 / Magyar

Az én történetem

Read my story in Hungarian.

Open project

FROM MY LIFE

What remains
is my story.

I was 18 years old. My Stasi file comprised 975 pages. As a young gay man, I wanted to live on my own terms and leave East Germany. On 14 February 1989, I was arrested — two days before my planned escape.

On stasi-haft.com, I open my files and tell my story. It is not easy for me. But I want to show what the absence of freedom means for a person — and why it matters to remember its value.

The room is newly imagined. The photographs and the file extract below are historical originals.