Eric Muhe

I read with regret that this fine East German actor had died.
He played the Stassi man who became human in " The lives of Others" , an excellent film I mentioned some time ago.
In real life he had been persecuted until the fall of the wall, as an anti-government actor and activist. In making the film, he must have often thought of the things that had happened to him, which, I'm sure, made his acting and portrayal utterly brilliant.
He died of cancer at a relatively young age, perhaps brought on by his sufferings. I mourn his passing.
But we have friends staying who are nothing if not stalwart Tories. When I mentioned that Muhe's early death was probably brought on by his suffering at the hands of the East German Government, my friend said " Goes to show that Socialism gives you cancer."
Certainly, if the incidence of cancer in Scotland and Glasgow in particular are anything to go by, he is not wrong.