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...According to a report from the Stasi, the East German secret police, that has recently come to light, on June 18, 1988, at precisely 2:52 p.m., several cars arrived at Checkpoint Charlie on the West Berlin side of the Berlin Wall, and a handful of passengers emerged. One of them was Jackson. (See the last pictures of Michael Jackson...
...King of Pop was accompanied by two West German TV crews and an unidentified woman described in the report as "approximately 25 years old, 165 cm tall, slim figure." The TV crews filmed Jackson at Checkpoint Charlie, and three minutes later he and his entourage climbed the stairs to the viewing platform and peered into the East. A photograph taken from the East Berlin side and pasted into the two-page report in the Stasi file shows Jackson in a tight-fitting dark jacket, his hands clasped, and wearing sunglasses and a hat. Next to him is the mystery woman...
...Details in the Stasi's report on Jackson suggest that the Western promoter, the concert's sponsor and Jackson's management were more than willing to accommodate the East Germans' concerns. In the minutes of a preparatory meeting of Stasi officials, dated May 4, 1988, the Stasi notes discussions that it was having with the head of the West German company that was organizing the concert. The names are blacked out in the report. According to the report, the organizer "together with Jackson's management is willing to build the stage at such a height that it is not visible...
...would the West Berlin promoter be so willing to cooperate with the East Germans? Possibly because the concert was sponsored by Coca-Cola, which had a stake in keeping East-West relations smooth. "The Coca-Cola company has economic interests in a relationship with the G.D.R.," the report says. "A meeting between the company's management and the General Secretary [Erich Honecker, head of the Socialist Unity Party and G.D.R. leader] is planned...
...crowd of about 5,000 people did gather on the eastern side of the Wall, according to a June 20, 1988, wire report by West Germany's Deutsche Presse Agentur news service, which is included in the Stasi file. It says that hundreds of East German security forces rushed the crowd in the early morning hours after the concert, and estimates that about 30 people were arrested. (See pictures of the young Michael Jackson in his own backyard...