The project was so important for the country that the signing of the contract was to be broadcast on television. For the then Sales Director Wolfgang Haschke, this wasn’t a problem in itself, but: Unfortunately, his suitcase didn’t arrive with the plane. It was delayed by a number of days. As the TV date approached, it became more urgent to get something suitable to wear.
A driver from the Haver & Boecker agency willingly accompanied Wolfgang Haschke to a kind of Intershop where you could buy “anything” for foreign currency. Once there, he was led to an area where there were already a number of sturdily built people looking for suitable clothing. However, it soon became apparent that clothing and shoes in the usual European sizes were hardly available. A friendly Vietnamese man who had studied in the former German Democratic Republic told him comfortingly: “If you’d come to us a year or two ago when the fat Americans were still here, you’d have had better luck.”
A temporary structure in the upper area was then sufficient for the television appointment.
