Although he had relatives in West Germany and was therefore potentially suspect, he was supposed to join the border troops after his Abitur exams in 1973. Asked after the first six months whether he would shoot at the border, he said “No”. “They asked everyone, and anyone could say ‘No’.”
Aunque tenía parientes en Alemania Occidental, hecho que hacía de él un potencial sospechoso, en 1973, tras hacer la selectividad, le destinaron a las tropas fronterizas.