I'm a Profiteer in Cold War Germany

Chapter 261: Chapter 44: Gunter’s Suspicion

A week later, Werner first took a trip to West Berlin.

Cafe Vienna House, second-floor office.

Margaret already had the documents prepared.

"Have a seat." She pointed to the chair opposite her and poured a cup of coffee for each of them. "Let’s talk about your grand plan."

Werner sat down and picked up the procurement list, looking it over.

"German-made precision machine tools, optical instruments from Switzerland, and electronic components from the Netherlands." He nodded. "Very good."

"I’ve contacted several reliable suppliers," Margaret said. "The goods will be shipped to Vienna first, then transported to Prague through my channels in Austria. The whole process will take about three weeks."

"No problems with customs?"

"I’ve already greased the wheels." Margaret flicked the ash from her cigarette. "But Werner, I have to remind you, this triangular trade of yours is very risky. If the West German intelligence agencies catch on—"

"They won’t," Werner said. "The final destination for the goods is the Czech Republic, not East Germany. West Germany’s attitude toward the Czech Republic is much more relaxed than it is toward East Germany."

"Smart." Margaret smiled. "You always find the loopholes."

"The Czech Republic is currently undergoing economic reform, and Western countries are all watching. They want to see if they can influence the Czech Republic’s political direction through economic infiltration. So, export controls on the Czech Republic are much looser than before."

"So what’s your plan?"

"Purchase embargoed goods from West Germany, ship them to Prague, and relabel them as ’Czech parts’," Werner said. "Then, part of it will be shipped to East Germany and imported under the guise of ’fraternal country trade’ to circumvent direct Western embargoes. The other part will be sold directly on the Czech market at a high price."

Margaret stared at him for a moment, then laughed.

"You really are a genius bastard," she said. "But I like it. If this model gets up and running, the profit margin will be at least 300%."

"That’s why I came to you," Werner said. "This business needs a partner who can hold their own. Reynard is reliable, but he doesn’t have your guts or your resources."

"Stop trying to flatter me," Margaret said. "But you’re right, Reynard is too conservative. He’d hesitate for ages over a deal this big."

She stood up, walked to the window, and lit a cigarette.

"Werner, are your channels in Prague reliable?"

"Very reliable," Werner said. "My partner has been in the Prague Black Market for twenty years. He has customs connections, transport channels, and warehouses."

"Good." Margaret turned around. "So, when do we start?"

"Now," Werner said. "The sooner, the better."

***

A week later, Werner traveled to Prague in his capacity as the deputy director of Koko, leading a small inspection team.

Ostensibly, the trip was to inspect the Czech Republic’s mechanical engineering industry. In reality, it was to set up a smuggling network.

Spring in Prague was a little warmer than in East Berlin.

The ice on the Vltava River had already melted, and the water shimmered with a golden light under the sun.

There were many more people on the streets than last year, and Western goods had begun to appear in many shop windows—Coca-Cola, Siemens radios, Italian leather shoes.

Mira met him at the train station.

"Werner!" He walked over and shook his hand. "Welcome to Prague."

"Long time no see, Mira," Werner said. "Have you found a warehouse?"

"I have." Mira lowered his voice. "It’s in the suburbs, an abandoned factory. Should we go see it now?"

"Let’s go."

The two of them slipped into an old sedan.

The car drove out of the city and headed for the outskirts.

The scenery along the way changed from bustling streets to a dilapidated industrial zone, finally stopping in front of a gray, three-story factory building.

"It used to be a textile factory," Mira said as he got out of the car, took out a key, and opened the door. "It went bankrupt five years ago and has been empty ever since. I rented it for five thousand Crowns, on a two-year lease."

Werner walked into the factory.

The inside was huge, at least a thousand square meters. The ceiling was high, there were several broken windows in the walls, and old machinery and scrap material were piled on the floor.

"Not bad." Werner nodded. "This will be more than enough."

"I’ve already had someone clean it up," Mira said. "I also installed a few big locks, so security won’t be a problem."

Werner walked a lap around the factory, his mind already formulating a plan.

"This area will be for storing the goods shipped from West Germany." He pointed to the left side of the factory. "And that side will be for ’processing’—which is just swapping out the packaging and labels, and forging Czech certificates of origin."

"Understood," Mira said. "I have a friend who works at a printing plant and can get his hands on templates for all sorts of official documents. These days, with the higher-ups constantly fussing over reforms, the people below have gotten lax. A lot of things are much easier to get done than before."

"Excellent." Werner turned to look at him. "And customs?"

"Taken care of." Mira pulled out a piece of paper. "This is a list of three key individuals. One is a captain at a border checkpoint, another is a deputy section chief in customs, and the last is an official from the transport department. I’ve already spoken with all of them. We’ll give them a fixed ’consulting fee’ every month."

Werner took the slip of paper and glanced at it.

"How much?"

"For all three, five thousand West German Marks a month."

"Done," Werner said. "Starting this month, I’ll give you sixty thousand West German Marks in operating funds each month. Five thousand for them, and the rest for warehouse maintenance, hiring hands, and handling miscellaneous expenses."

Mira’s eyes lit up.

"Sixty thousand? Every month?"

"That’s right," Werner said. "But I expect results. At least ten shipments a month, with each shipment valued at no less than fifty thousand West German Marks."

Mira swallowed hard.

"Werner, this business of yours is huge."

"If you don’t go big, how can you make money?" Werner clapped him on the shoulder. "Mira, we only have two years. In two years, all of this could change."

"Why two years?"

"A businessman’s intuition," Werner said. "In any case, we need to hurry up and make money."

***

Over the next two months, Werner’s triangular trade operation began to run.

Margaret procured embargoed goods from West Germany—precision machine tools, electronic components, optical instruments—and shipped them through Austria to Prague.

Mira received the goods in Prague, changed the packaging and labels, and forged them into "Czech parts."

Then, part of these goods were shipped to East Germany and imported under the guise of "fraternal country trade," circumventing direct Western embargoes. The other part was sold directly on the Czech market at a high price, raking in enormous profits.

By May 1966, Werner had already completed over twenty shipments, with a net profit exceeding one and a half million West German Marks.

But he didn’t stop.

In mid-May, Werner made another bold decision—to stockpile Western luxury goods.

He called Margaret.

"I need a different kind of shipment," he said. "Jeans, rock and roll records, cosmetics, birth control pills, and also miniskirts and posters of The Beatles."

There was silence on the other end of the line for a few seconds.

"You want to sell this stuff in the Czech Republic?"

"That’s right," Werner said. "The youth in the Czech Republic are desperate for Western things right now. These goods can sell for exorbitant prices over there."

Margaret laughed.

"You’re really not afraid to make money any way you can," she said. "But I like it. This shipment is much easier to procure than machine tools, and less risky. Give me a week."

"How much?"

"Two hundred thousand West German Marks."

"Done."

A month later, Margaret delivered five tons of Western luxury goods.

Werner had them all shipped to Prague and stored in Mira’s warehouse.

Then, he waited for the right moment.

In June, the Czech government announced a further relaxation of regulations on the consumer goods market.

Western goods became legal to import, but quantities were limited and prices were high.

The goods Werner had stockpiled instantly became hot commodities.

Mira frantically offloaded these products to the Czech youth through Black Market channels.

The price of jeans soared from ten West German Marks to one hundred. Rock records went from five Marks to fifty. Birth control pills were in such high demand that their price increased twentyfold.

In just one month, Werner netted eight hundred thousand West German Marks.

***

At the end of June, Werner returned to West Berlin.

Margaret was waiting for him at Cafe Vienna House.

A pile of bank documents lay on the table in front of her.

"The accounts you wanted are all set up." She pushed the documents toward him. "Two in Zurich, Switzerland, and one in Vienna, Austria. The account names are all fictitious West German businessmen, with no direct link to you."

Werner looked through the documents and nodded.

"Excellent."

"But Werner, I have to warn you," Margaret said. "These accounts are discreet, but they’re not foolproof. If you make frequent transfers, you’ll still attract attention."

"I know," Werner said. "That’s why I won’t be making direct transfers. I’ll use Gold and cash."

"How will you transport it?"

"By exploiting Koko’s freight privileges," Werner said. "We’ll hide the Gold inside the machine tools and the cash in the packing crates for the precision instruments. Ship it from Prague to Switzerland and Austria."

Margaret stared at him for a moment, then laughed.

"You’re getting bolder and bolder," she said. "But I have to admit, it’s a clever method."

"That’s why I need you to help coordinate," Werner said. "On the Swiss and Austrian side, I need someone to receive the shipments, inspect them, and then deposit the contents into the bank."

"No problem," Margaret said. "I have a partner in Zurich who specializes in this kind of ’special business.’ But his commission isn’t cheap. He takes 5% each time."

"Acceptable."

The two discussed a few more details, then Werner stood up to leave.

***

One afternoon in early July, Werner was reviewing documents in his office when his secretary suddenly knocked and entered.

"Deputy Director Werner, Director Gunter is looking for you."

Werner’s heart tightened.

He put down the documents, straightened his collar, and walked toward Gunter’s office.

Gunter sat behind his desk, a cigar between his fingers, his face expressionless.

"Sit," he said.

Werner sat down, trying to remain calm.

"Director Gunter, what are your instructions?"

Gunter didn’t answer right away.

He exhaled a puff of smoke and looked at Werner.

"You’ve been going to Prague quite often recently," he said. "Almost every two weeks."

"Yes," Werner said. "The reforms in the Czech Republic have created a lot of trade opportunities. I’m helping Koko expand its market."

"Expand its market?" Gunter raised an eyebrow. "I heard you set up a warehouse over there and hired quite a few people."

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