The Lives of Others

A few years after the fall of the Iron Curtain, Georg Dreyman talks with former Minister Hempf at a theater and asks: "Why wasn't I placed under surveillance?" Hempf tells him that he was under surveillance. Dreyman takes a look at the Stasi's (East Germany's secret police) reports on him and notices that some of the surveillance reports (the ones written by Wiesler) are inaccurate. In one of the reports, he notices a red ink stain (Dreyman was using red ink with that typewriter): which indicates that someone (Wiesler) had the typewriter being searched for by the Stasi. Dreyman deduces that on the day the Stasi searched his house, whoever wrote the report, removed the typewriter from the secret compartment, so that Dreyman wouldn't be interrogated by the Stasi. Dreyman reads the code name (HGW XX/7) of the Stasi agent who wrote the report and asks for the name. 2 years later, a book written by Dreyman called Sonata for a Good Man, is published. Wiesler buys a copy of the book and notices that it's dedicated: "To HGW XX/7, with gratitude..."

Alex

Continuity mistake: When Grubitz talks to Wiesler in the cafe, the amount of beer in their glasses keeps changing.

More mistakes in The Lives of Others

Hauptmann Gerd Wiesler: An innocent prisoner will become more angry by the hour due to the injustice suffered. He will shout and rage. A guilty prisoner becomes more calm and quiet. Or he cries. He knows he's there for a reason. The best way to establish guilt or innocence is non-stop interrogation.

More quotes from The Lives of Others

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