Two years later
Two years laterJohann sat in the barracks listening to a music program on the radio. About a year earlier the two engineers in the barracks had pieced together a radio from parts organized at the factory or bartered with the townsfolk.
The program was interrupted by the hourly news report nobody listened to. But something caught Johann’s attention and he shouted, “Quiet!” What he heard sent his heart pounding like a jackhammer.
“What has you launching like a rocket?” someone asked.
“Lads, you won’t believe it, but as we speak, the German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer is making a personal visit to Moscow,” Johann answered.
“What’s he want there? Curry favors with the Russians?”
“They say it’s to establish diplomatic relations,” Johann said.
“Diplomatic relations? What ab
