Porcelain mug from the brand ‘Kahla’, around 1950
Erika Wohlers was born in 1948 in Hainichen (now Saxony) as the third child of a refugee family from the former German eastern territories. After training as a librarian in Weißenfels (now Saxony-Anhalt), she studied archival science and history in Berlin from 1967. In November 1971, she was arrested by the State Security and placed in pre-trial detention. She was accused of disseminating DDR-critical and Western literature. Additionally, the Ministry for State Security attempted to associate her with critical leaflets distributed at Humboldt University. In September 1972, Erika Wohlers was sentenced to two years and eight months in prison for ‘anti-state incitement.’ She was released due to an amnesty in December 1972, but then was not allowed to continue her studies. She and her husband subsequently applied for permission to leave the country. This was followed by two years during which they struggled economically due to their political beliefs and the travel request. In December 1974, the couple finally received permission to emigrate to the West. Among their belongings was this porcelain mug. It is one of the few items that the Wohlers couple took with them when they emigrated to the FRG. They feared that having more belongings would increase the risk of border officials finding a reason to deny their exit. Erika Wohlers’ mother gave her the mug during her farewell visit in Weißenfels as a keepsake for her family.
