West Germany has been buying political prisoners out of the GDR since 1962. In 1975, GDR citizens file 16,000 applications for exit visas – more than ever before. The same year, West Germany breaks its own record by spending more than 100 million Deutsche marks on freeing detainees. Although the GDR has signed the Helsinki Final Act, it is still putting people on trial for political reasons. West Berlin lawyer Reymar von Wedel helps the prisoners on behalf of the protestant church.