Título: Erich Mielke
Seção: Bulowplatz trial
Background: Erich Mielke was born in a tenement in Berlin-Wedding, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire, on 28 December 1907. During the First World War, the neighborhood was known as "Red Wedding" due to many residents' Marxist militancy. In a handwritten biography written for the Soviet secret police, Mielke described his father as "a poor, uneducated woodworker," and said that his mother died in 1911. Both were, he said, members of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD).

Conteúdo: In February 1992, Mielke was put on trial for the first degree murders of Captains Anlauf and Lenck as well as the attempted murder of Senior Sergeant Willig. The evidence for Mielke's guilt was drawn from the original police files, the 1934 trial transcripts, and a handwritten memoir in which Mielke had admitted that, "the Bulowplatz Affair," had been his reason for fleeing Germany. All had been found in Mielke's house safe during a police search in 1990. Mielke was believed to have kept the files for purposes of "blackmailing Honecker and other East German leaders." Former Associated Press reporter and White House Press Secretary John Koehler also testified about how Mielke had boasted of his involvement in the Bulowplatz murders during a confrontation at Leipzig in 1965.  During his trial, Mielke appeared increasingly senile, admitting his identity but otherwise remaining silent, taking naps, and showing little interest in the proceedings. In a widely publicized incident, Mielke appeared to mistake the presiding judge for a prison barber. When a journalist for Der Spiegel attempted to interview him in Plotzensee Prison, Mielke responded, "I want to go back to my bed" (German: "Ich mochte in mein Bett zuruck."). Opinion was divided whether Mielke was suffering from senile dementia or was pretending in order to evade prosecution.  After twenty months of one-and-a-half hour daily sessions, Erich Mielke was convicted on two counts of murder and one of attempted murder. On 26 O

user: what was the trial about

assistant: In February 1992, Mielke was put on trial for the first degree murders

user: who was he accused of murdering

assistant: Captains Anlauf and Lenck as well as the attempted murder of Senior Sergeant Willig.

user: what was the motive behind the killings

assistant: CANNOTANSWER

user: how long was the trial

assistant: twenty months

user: what was the verdict

assistant: Erich Mielke was convicted on two counts of murder and one of attempted murder.

user: how long was he sentenced to

assistant: six years' imprisonment.

user: was there anything notable about the trial

assistant: Judge Theodor Seidel, told Mielke that he "will go down in history as one of the most fearsome dictators and police ministers of the 20th century."

user: was there media coverage of the trial

assistant: a journalist for Der Spiegel attempted to interview him in Plotzensee Prison,

user: Did the interview happen

assistant: Mielke responded, "I want to go back to my bed" (German: "Ich mochte in mein Bett zuruck.").

user: were there any other attempts for an interview

assistant: CANNOTANSWER

user: What other interesting things happend

assistant: In a widely publicized incident, Mielke appeared to mistake the presiding judge for a prison barber.