ASSIGNMENT POTSDAM: COUNTDOWN TO WAR
A COLD WAR THRILLER
________________________
BY CHARLIE FITZGERALD
EAST GERMANY 1961
In the shadow of the Berlin Wall
East Berlin 1961. Walter Ulbricht plans to kill Khrushchev with help from the CIA. The CIA plans to oust JFK in a sex scandal and an East German cop is chasing a serial killer.
USMLM Chief Col. Mac has just stumbled in the middle of it all and has 72 hours to stop WW3.
Inspired by real events and recent CIA documents.
THE UNITED STATES MILITARY LIAISON MISSION-EAST GERMANY
Created by agreement, in1947, this overt spy group, comprised of American military personnel, operated behind enemy lines in East Berlin and East Germany. This historically accurate, yet fictitional story brings their dangerous work to light.
A LOOK BACK-BERLIN 1961
The Brandenburg Gate before and after the construction of the Berlin Wall.
The third photo was taken looking from the Western side into East Berlin. The two Vopo guards stood shoulder to shoulder to block the view.
The top photo is a postcard that the author's father purchased in East Berlin. It shows Stalinallee; Brandenburg Gate; Alexanderplatz; Unter den Linden; and Deutsche Staatsoper (German Opera House)
The next shows Kürfürstendamm, one of the most commercially active streets in West Berlin.
The final postcard shows the Soviet War Memorial, dedicated to those who died in battle.
The author's family in Berlin. The author is the kid dressed in all white pajamas closest to the camera.
This final photo is the author smartly dressed and walking along the main hallway on the SS United States. I would shortly thereafter run into the Duke and Duchess of Windsor. And she did leave a red lipstick mark on my face.