I'm a Profiteer in Cold War Germany

「Three days later, in a nondescript gray apartment building near Alexanderplatz.」

Werner sat in a small room on the third floor. This was a place he had borrowed from Fatty Wolf—specifically for conducting shady business.

The room’s curtains were drawn tight, with only a dim table lamp casting a faint light.

Three identical Philips radios were arranged neatly on the table, their metallic sheen gleaming coldly in the gloom.

The place was safe. Below was an abandoned tailor’s shop, and few people ever passed by.

Even if a neighbor did walk by, they wouldn’t pay any mind to such a common, dilapidated building.

Werner had chosen this spot precisely for its ordinariness—in a place like Berlin, the best hiding spot was to blend completely into the gray background.

The room was filled with a musty smell, mixed with the scent of coal smoke drifting up from downstairs.

Werner waited quietly, his fingers drumming unconsciously on the tabletop. The radios stood out conspicuously in the silence.

There was a knock on the door.

Werner walked over and peered through the crack in the door, seeing a young man standing outside.

He opened the door, and the young man slipped inside.

"Are you Mr. Betelich?" the young man asked.

The man appeared to be in his twenties, dressed respectably but not extravagantly, and had the typical air of an intellectual.

"And you must be Hans Boyman?" Werner asked.

"Yes," the young man said, taking a seat. "Martin Schmidt sent me. He said you have some very special radios?"

"Very special indeed." Werner picked up one of the radios. "This is the latest model from West Germany. It can clearly pick up all Western radio stations."

Hans’s eyes immediately lit up.

He was a university philosophy student with a strong craving for Western thought and culture.

Under the East German education system, he was only exposed to academic views from the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. His knowledge of Western philosophy was limited to the critical descriptions found in textbooks.

"Can it really pick up Western academic programs?" Hans asked excitedly.

"Of course. The BBC’s German-language service has a cultural segment every night, and there are university lectures on West German radio." Werner expertly tuned to the corresponding frequency.

A clear German voice emerged from the radio: "Tonight, we will be discussing the influence of Sartre’s existentialist philosophy on contemporary European thought..."

Hans’s eyes widened. This was exactly the kind of content he had been dreaming of.

In East Germany, Sartre was labeled a "representative of decadent bourgeois thought," making any in-depth discussion in the classroom impossible.

"This is incredible!" Hans couldn’t help but exclaim.

"The price is nine hundred Marks," Werner stated directly.

Hans hesitated.

As a student, he didn’t have much money. Nine hundred Marks was almost half a year’s worth of his living expenses.

"Could you go a little lower?" he asked tentatively.

Werner shook his head. "The price is firm. However..." He paused. "If you can introduce me to more customers, I can give you a commission."

"What do you mean?"

"For every customer you successfully refer, I’ll give you thirty Marks," Werner laid out his terms. "There must be many students at the university like you, interested in Western culture, right?"

Hans’s eyes lit up.

It was a great idea. Many of his classmates were curious about Western culture but lacked any way to access it.

"I can try," he said. "But I don’t have that much money right now..."

"No problem," Werner said magnanimously. "You can take the radio now and pay me back slowly. I trust a friend referred by the Schmidt family."

Hans looked at Werner gratefully. "You’re really willing to sell it to me on credit?"

"Of course. But I’ll need you to write an IOU." Werner took a pen and paper from his pocket. "Just business."

Hans quickly wrote out the note, then carefully picked up the radio. "Mr. Betelich, you’re a good man." 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

"I hope we’ll have a fruitful partnership," Werner said with a smile.

After Hans left, Werner put away the remaining two radios, feeling quite pleased. The university student population was a market with great potential. They thirsted for knowledge, had spending power, and maintained their own social circles. Through a node like Hans, he should be able to reach many more customers.

「One week later, in a student dormitory near Humboldt University in East Berlin.」

Hans’s dorm room was packed with people.

Six young men were gathered around the Philips radio, listening intently to a philosophy lecture on the BBC.

"...Therefore, Heidegger believed ’Being’ to be the fundamental question of philosophy, rather than the ’beings’ that traditional metaphysics focuses on..." a professor’s voice said from the radio.

"My God, this is completely different from what our textbooks say!" a thin, bespectacled young man exclaimed.

"Of course it’s different," Hans said smugly. "Our textbooks only tell you ’Heidegger is a fascist philosopher.’ They don’t tell you what his ideas actually are."

"This radio is amazing!" another student said. "Hans, where did you get it?"

Hans smiled mysteriously. "A friend of mine is in this line of business. If you want one, I can make an introduction."

"How much?" someone asked.

"Nine hundred Marks."

A collective gasp went through the room.

For students, this was indeed no small sum.

"That’s too expensive," someone said, shaking his head.

"It’s a bit pricey, but it’s absolutely worth it," Hans argued. "Think about it. Access to the latest Western academic thought is more precious than any amount of money. Besides..." He lowered his voice. "You can also listen to the latest Western music."

As he spoke, he tuned to the music channel of the RIAS Radio Station.

Soon, upbeat rock and roll music filled the room.

The young men exchanged glances, the same longing reflected in each of their eyes.

"I want one," the bespectacled young man said first.

"Me too."

"Count me in."

In the end, four of the six decided to buy a radio.

Hans was secretly overjoyed. ’This means I’ll get a commission of one hundred and twenty Marks, enough to pay off my debt to Werner!’

"I’ll contact that friend tomorrow then," Hans said. "But you have to remember, you can’t go spreading this around."

"Don’t worry, we get it," they all said, nodding.

「Meanwhile, in a high-end residential area of East Berlin.」

Mrs. Schmidt was hosting a small gathering in her living room.

Five or six middle-aged women sat around the coffee table, sipping real coffee and chatting about this and that.

"Ingrid, this coffee machine of yours is just wonderful," an elegantly dressed woman exclaimed. "My husband says this coffee is even more fragrant than what he had in Moscow."

"Yes, Ingrid, where did you get something so fine?" another woman chimed in.

Mrs. Schmidt (Ingrid) smiled. "A merchant introduced by a friend. He specializes in high-end goods."

"What kind of goods?" someone asked curiously.