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PODCAST

How To Diaries

Tommy H. Jannot

"A country that punishes wanderlust with prison is not my country" - The 18-Year-Old Who Wrote a Note and Disappeared tjannot.substack.com

history

All Episodes

1:10

A Message Between Lines

How To Diaries ·

2026/01/11

With all the fuss about “Kathi,” I completely forgot to reply to my stepfather’s unique letter (see Tuesday, March 27):The German edition of 1984, The 18-Year-Old Who Wrote a Note and Disappeared is now available in bookshops: 📖 https://j4b.me/1984Dear Dad! I was pleasantly surprised to receive your letter... I don’t know if my lawyer is in contact with you... You could ask him yourself: Dr. jur. h.c. Wolfgang Vogel (also licensed to practice in West Berlin)... After consulting my lawyer, I

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2:57

Five Letters, One Stolen Life

How To Diaries ·

2026/01/10

A “five-letter baking mix” is annoying ‘Blaschi’ again. I usually have an answer. But this time, I really can’t think of anything. “You. Must. Know!”, he presses.The German edition of 1984, The 18-Year-Old Who Wrote a Note and Disappeared is now available in bookshops: 📖 https://j4b.me/1984“Kathi,” he grumbles disappointedly. Why should I know that when the last thing I baked was sand cake in the sandbox, I grumble indignantly. Because the stuff comes from Halle! So what?So what! “Kathi” was a

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3:15

Hope Slips Through the Bars

How To Diaries ·

2026/01/06

In my thoughts, I congratulate Marion on her birthday, who turns 18 today. No one needs to know that I like her (see Tuesday, February 28).The German edition of 1984, The 18-Year-Old Who Wrote a Note and Disappeared is now available in bookshops: 📖 https://j4b.me/1984Just like Manfred Krug, with whom it all began. And Armin Müller-Stahl. And Nina Hagen. And all the other artists who have taken a stand.Manfred Krug could have been a good father, like my biological father (see Friday, March 2). Then

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3:22

Labeled ‘Anti-Social’

How To Diaries ·

2026/01/04

My twelfth weekend in jail. Another 27 ahead of me if I have to serve the full sentence. In eight weeks, I’ll be halfway there. It will be at least another 14 before I can expect deportation or ransom.The German edition of 1984, The 18-Year-Old Who Wrote a Note and Disappeared is now available in bookshops: 📖 https://j4b.me/1984My new “subtenant” is much smarter than I imagined a real “anti-social” person to be. The few I know loiter around supermarkets stores on weekdays and are dead drunk by late

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3:27

Down the Steep Slope

How To Diaries ·

2026/01/03

Woke up tonight with my heart racing. “Blaschi,” my new cellmate in the bunk beneath me, is still sleaping soundly. Dreamed about skiing in the Giant Mountains.The German edition of 1984, The 18-Year-Old Who Wrote a Note and Disappeared is now available in bookshops: 📖 https://j4b.me/1984For a while, my parents took me to Benecko in the Krkonoše Mountains during the winter holidays. I can still remember the first time I saw a lot of snow in my life.The roadsides were white walls that reached above

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2:40

The Good Life in a GDR Cell

How To Diaries ·

2026/01/02

Unlike his “previous tenant” Andi, “Blaschi” reacted with complete indifference to my quiet singing last night. A loud fart from his exhaust pipe pleased him more.The German edition of 1984, The 18-Year-Old Who Wrote a Note and Disappeared is now available in bookshops: 📖 https://j4b.me/1984Udo Lindenberg, Neue Deutsche Welle, or even punk are out of the question for the time being. But he is a living encyclopedia. He brought a bundle of crossword puzzles with him, which he meticulously works

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2:50

202 Days to Go

How To Diaries ·

2026/01/01

Eleventh Sunday in pretrial detention. A convicted offender since Monday. Sentenced “in the name of the people” to nine months in jail. That’s 274 days and nights. I’ve got 72 behind me. Still 202 to go.The German edition of 1984, The 18-Year-Old Who Wrote a Note and Disappeared is now available worldwide in bookstores as a hardcover, paperback, and e-book. Read more and order now: 📖 https://j4b.me/1984Waiting to be transferred to a real prison. They can take their time with that. Better to be a

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2:25

Quarterfinals of Prison

How To Diaries ·

2025/12/30

Alone again. After they brought me back to my prison cell on Monday, my buddy Andi was gone. I didn’t get any more work either. Lots of time for daydreaming and number games.The German edition of 1984, The 18-Year-Old Who Wrote a Note and Disappeared is now available worldwide in bookstores as a hardcover, paperback, and e-book. Read more and order now: 📖 https://j4b.me/1984The court proceedings were short and painless, which I would normally have liked very much. But I’m furious because those

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0:40

The Bright Side of The Doom

How To Diaries ·

2025/11/28

The Bright Side of the Doom is now called Once Upon a Time in Germany, a prequel to 1984, The 18-Year-Old Who Wrote a Note and Disappeared. It is about the boy’s father, whose approach to life is completely different from his son’s.Born at the beginning of the Third Reich and educated during the Second World War, he completes his studies in the first workers’ and farmers’ state by learning, working and performing hard. 👉 https://j4b.me/doomHaving been married three times and divorced twice, and

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0:56

Once Upon a Time in Germany

How To Diaries ·

2025/11/21

1984: The 18-year-old who wrote a note and disappeared. A thriller for teenagers and young adults of Gen Z who do their own thing.This is the true story of a young man who voluntarily goes to prison for an absurd crime in order to realise his dream. 👉 https://j4b.me/1984The story is based on events that the author himself experienced. In 2024, he opens a box full of notes, letters and documents from his past. He uses them to reconstruct a diary, which he types into his blog in real time. 👉

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1:15

Es war einmal in Germany

How To Diaries ·

2025/11/20

Das ist die wahre Geschichte eines Jugendlichen, der für ein absurdes Verbrechen freiwillig ins Gefängnis geht, um seinen Traum zu verwirklichen. 🔥 Die Story basiert auf Tatsachen, die der Autor selbst erlebt hat. 👉 https://j4b.me/1984 This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit tjannot.substack.com/subscribe

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2:17

The Longest Day

How To Diaries ·

2025/11/16

Today is the longest day of my life. No matter how long they sentence me to, it will take one day longer to be released because it is a leap year. Well then, let’s get started with the Bakelite program and dive into the past.My big brother turned 17. He started an apprenticeship in Aschersleben and came home less and less often. That’s why I had our shared childhood bedroom mostly to myself since I was 12 or 13.My little brother slept in his parents’ bedroom. One evening, I heard loud clattering,

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2:27

Eight Weeks, One Song, a Lifetime Ago

How To Diaries ·

2025/11/15

Eight weeks in prison. Today, I revel in my daydreams of yesterday. After Kathrin (see Saturday, February 18, 1984), there was only one girl with whom I would have gone through thick and thin.It started with her big sister, whom I initially fell for. She had long black hair and was the ‘Freundschaftsratsvorsitzende‘ (friendship council chairperson). I didn’t stand a chance.Later, I realised that this unattainable beauty was a ‘Schwelle’ (threshold, local youth slang for sister) to the wonderful

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2:26

The Beat of Munich

How To Diaries ·

2025/11/14

I’ve been sitting in this bloody remand centre for 52 days and 53 nights. Because today is Monday, we’re allowed to screw Bakelite plugs again. In between, we get to go out into the yard. Nothing else happens.To avoid any doubts, I have to motivate myself as to why I’m actually here.Because I firmly believe that sooner or later I’ll be ransomed. Just like Iris’s parents in the mid-1970s.In 1975, I had to change schools for fourth grade (see Friday, February 17, 1984).Iris sat next to me and beamed

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2:18

Hustles Behind the Wall

How To Diaries ·

2025/10/12

Seven weeks. Three cells. Two books. One hope. Pretrial detention can be incredibly boring. Back to the year 1981.Busy teenagers had several opportunities to earn money legally. The most lucrative was vacation work. However, that was only possible in the summer. For three weeks, the pay was significantly higher than what apprentices earned in a month.In the spring and fall, I was able to get a job at the fairground. A good friend of mine worked as a cashier on the chain carousel and offered to share

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2:05

Dreams of Speed

How To Diaries ·

2025/10/11

My 50th day in custody. That’s seven weeks and one day, or 1,200 hours, that I’ve been locked up. Because of a piece of paper and because I wanted to travel to the West on the Reichsbahn.At least it was my own decision. The public prosecutor took the bait (see Friday, January 27). And solicitor Vogel wants to take care of me (see Thursday, February 2).If things continue at this pace, I will have plenty of opportunity to reflect on the old days. 1981 was one of my fastest years.How To Diaries is a

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2:20

Verdammt Long Ago

How To Diaries ·

2025/10/10

Seventh Friday in custody. The Bakelite program continues. Yard time, chatting, brooding. All Quiet in the Eastern Jail.In 1981, “Dad” acquired a piece of land on the outskirts of a village near Naumburg. It was located on a steep slope with a magnificent view of Schönburg on the Saale River.In order to build on it, he needed accommodation. To this end, he smuggled a construction trailer and materials out of Buna. The problem was the difficult accessibility of his oasis.How To Diaries is a

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2:27

From Custody to Carburetors

How To Diaries ·

2025/09/05

This was my 48th night and 47th day in “Gewahrsam" (custody,) as it is called in officialese. Nothing is happening. No interrogation. No mail. No visitors. No newspaper. I can't read a book because two sacks of Bakelite plugs are waiting for us.I ponder back to the spring of 1979.In Grandpa Hans's shed, there are two Simson SR1s, built in 1955, rusting away because “Papa,” as we call Grandpa Hans, hasn't ridden them in years.Can I take them on? Yes, of course.The fuel taps and carburetors are

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2:30

The Hour of the Dead Eyes

How To Diaries ·

2025/07/27

We are working on our Bakelite plugs. The Kalfaktor (local for trusty prisoner) peeks in and has something very special in his book trolley: “Die Stunde der toten Augen” (The Hour of the Dead Eyes) by Harry Thürk.This book, which I devoured years ago alongside “Die Abenteuer des Werner Holt” (The Adventures of Werner Holt) by Dieter Noll, is awesome.German paratroopers are fighting the Red Army in the hinterland. It's extremely exciting, without any agitation or propaganda.It's literally the bloody

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2:15

From Enthusiasm to Refusal

How To Diaries ·

2025/07/26

Seventh Tuesday in pretrial detention. We assemble Bakelite plugs and agonize our way through the day.It was fifth grade.My first geography class—my favorite subject, in which I had the best grade point average until the end of eighth grade.Right in the first lesson, our geography teacher informed us that my name was of Huguenot origin and was pronounced “Schannoh.”We all liked it so much that the French pronunciation of my name became my one and only nickname.Russian became a compulsory subject, in

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