"Willy - Betrayal of the Chancellor" delves into the opaque world of espionage and political intrigue during the Cold War. In the early 1970s, the BND decoded an old, secret message to an Eastern agent in the West. The message, ...See more"Willy - Betrayal of the Chancellor" delves into the opaque world of espionage and political intrigue during the Cold War. In the early 1970s, the BND decoded an old, secret message to an Eastern agent in the West. The message, congratulations on the birth of a son, led to the Chancellor's presence: Brandt's advisor Günter Guillaume became a target. On April 24, 1974, he and his wife were arrested as spies for the GDR. The end of an agent's career. The journey through time of "Willy - Betrayal of the Chancellor" begins at the end of the Second World War: Günter Guillaume and Willy Brandt try to build a new, better Germany, in the GDR and in the FRG. But in the East the population is dissatisfied. Hundreds of thousands flee to the West - the state security takes advantage of this to infiltrate spies, including Guillaume. He makes a career in the SPD. In 1972 a power struggle shakes the FRG. The reason is the Chancellor's new Eastern policy and the growing anger of the opposition. New elections are coming up. Guillaume is also on the team for Brandt's election campaign. Brandt travels with him for six weeks in a special train on the "Vote for Willy" tour, makes up to eight appearances a day, sleeps too little, smokes and drinks too much. He remains Chancellor, but in April 1974 the bomb explodes and the spy in the Chancellery is exposed. Brandt comes under pressure. The GDR government is in a panic because the fall of the Chancellor could be fatal for the relationship between the two German states. And then an explosive list appears: names of Brandt's alleged lovers. The lines between political intrigue and personal drama become blurred. Written by
ADR Das Erste
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