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Do traces in the case of Uwe Barschel lead to Moscow? New documentary brings more inconsistencies to light
Uwe Barschel on September 18, 1987 at a press conference in Kiel. Here the CDU politician gave his “word of honor” that he knew nothing about the campaign against SPD politician Björn Engholm.
© Werner Baum / DPA / Picture Alliance
A new documentary series is dedicated to the mysterious death of Uwe Barschel – and takes a new look at one of the biggest unsolved mysteries in the criminal history of the Federal Republic.
Was it murder? Or suicide? On October 11, 1987, the death of a politician shook the Federal Republic. A starReporter discovers the then Schleswig-Holstein Prime Minister Uwe Barschel dead in his hotel room in the luxury hotel “Beau Rivage” on Lake Geneva – and presses the shutter button on his camera.
Photo of the dead Uwe Barschel went around the world
The photo of the dead CDU politician in the bathtub ends up on the front page of the star – and goes around the world. Barschel’s death is the provisional conclusion of an unprecedented political scandal. But it is also the starting point for decades of speculation about the background to what happened in room 317 of the “Beau Rivage”. To this day, it has not been officially clarified what led to Uwe Barschel’s death. Was it an assassination plot? Or the carefully planned last resort of a failure?
The four-part documentary series “Barschel – the mysterious death of a top politician” goes in search of clues more than 35 years later – and raises new questions about the case and its many inconsistencies and oddities.
In a total of around three hours, almost every corner of one of the biggest unsolved mysteries in the criminal history of the Federal Republic is illuminated. Historical recordings, re-enacted scenes and interviews with a dozen contemporary witnesses – politicians, investigators, journalists, secret service agents – lead from the northern German provinces into the shadowy world of international secret services.
The brother of the deceased has his say. Like the public prosecutor who was investigating at the time, he sticks to the murder theory and draws attention to outrageous errors in the investigation, such as missing crime scene photos or a hair that mysteriously disappeared from the hotel room of the dead man.
Documentary gets to the bottom of theories
The makers also go through the many other theories in turn: What do Barschel’s many visits to the GDR mean? Who did he want to meet in Geneva? Was the CDU man involved in arms deals? What role does the smear campaign against Barschel competitor and SPD politician Björn Engholm play?
Viewers experience a political thriller with a real background from a number of perspectives. “Barschel – the mysterious death of a top politician” is not the first documentary about the case and it cannot solve the mystery either. But it should be the most comprehensive, also thanks to its richness of detail and new approaches.
A former employee of the East German state security service, whose department Uwe Barschel monitored for years, also has his say. In the days leading up to his death, he noticed some strange happenings within the Stasi – and says: “Every piece of information that is no longer available in the archives is in the archives in Moscow as a duplicate.”
The search for clues in the Barschel case will continue, but it is becoming increasingly clear: The solution to the case is not in room 317 of the “Beau Rivage”, but – and the documentary works this out precisely – in the days, weeks and years before Uwe Barschel’s death . Worth seeing.
© RTL Germany
The four episodes of 45 minutes each “Barschel – the mysterious death of a top politician” run from May 24th here on RTL+. This Wednesday evening, Eike Barschel will also speak from 10:35 p.m star TV on RTL about the death of his brother.
Editor’s note: The star is part of RTL Germany.