Headscratchers / The Lives of Others

• Why, apart from moving the plot forward, was it so essential for the playwright to get a highly illegal, dangerously smuggled, hard-to-hide typewriter? He couldn't just handwrite his essay for the Western magazine to typeset?
  • It could be that Der Spiegel suspects it has a Stasi spy, who tipped off Grublitz about the typewriter. A handwritten original would be very easy to trace back to an owner (if they've got a list of typewriters being used, you can be damn sure they've got handwriting samples too).
  • Part of it reflects how thorough the investigation would be when it comes to a socialist state. They were able to identify the exact brand and model from its typeface, and knew it was a rare item that would not be easily traced. Being a playwright, Dreyman would be on the short list of suspects and could probably access records of previous writings.

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