Jim McDermott

All Traitors' Day Jim McDermott

June 1953: three months after the death of Josef Stalin, a succession struggle paralyses the Kremlin. Meanwhile, the Soviet Union's fledgling client-state East Germany is having a disastrous year, its economic master plan failing so badly that even good socialists are wondering if the rush to socialism is a mistake. In normal times they could look to Moscow for help and guidance, but all they get are distracted words of caution. On 17 June, the previous day's isolated outbreaks of industrial unrest grow into a nation-wide outpouring of grievance. Hundreds of thousands of workers strike, and as the day goes on, ordinary citizens join them, taking to the streets to demand free elections and an end to one-party rule. There are too few police and State Security forces to restore order, and they hardly make the attempt. The longer the unrest continues, the more likely it is that the Red Army will intervene, brutally. On this fateful day, two fugitives come to West Berlin, each hoping to influence a nation's future. To succeed, they need help - help that doesn't ask questions or fear to take risks. It asks a hell of lot, that sort of help, and Otto Fischer, clock-repairer of Lichterfelde, wishes very much that they'd looked elsewhere.