r not, the pact succeeded in preventing any further acts of violence for almost a year. On August 25, 1983 a large explosion destroyed the fourth floor and blew the roof off the "Maison de France" in West Berlin. The blast, caused by an estimated twenty to thirty kilos of explosive, demolished the French Consulate, a cultural centre, a suite of offices and a restaurant. One young man who had entered the building to present a petition to the consul protesting against French nuclear testing in the South Pacific, died when he was buried under tons of falling masonry. Flying debris wounded twenty-two others, who were either in the building or on the street outside. Johannes Weinrich (Yallop)The blast had been planned by Johannes Weinrich and carried out by one of his associates. The Stasi had previously taken the explosives used in the bombing from Weinrich when he had attempted to smuggle them into East Berlin a year earlier. After a long period of terse negotiations by Weinrich and Carlos, the East Germans gave the explosives back. Weinrich later gave evidence that he had smuggled a bag containing the explosives across the West German border and gave them to his contact in the Syrian Embassy in Berlin for safe keeping until they were needed for the "Maison de France" attack. In early September, Carlos sent a letter to West Germany's Interior Minister, Friedrich Zimmermann claiming responsibility for the attack. Included in the letter was a detailed floor plan indicating where the bomb had been planted. The document also called for the release of Gabrielle Krocher-Tiedemann and promised further retaliation if any action was taken against her. Ironically, Krocher-Tiedemann was later released without the need for further intervention when trial witnesses refused to testify against her. With confidence high after the success of the "Maison de France" bombing, Carlos finalised plans for his next attack on France. The target was...
