From Shahrokh Maskoub to Forough, at Mahdi Khan Baba Tehrani's Dinner Party

This week's host is Mahdi Khan Baba Tehrani, one of the most famous Iranian political activists abroad. He began his political activities in his youth by joining the Tudeh Party and was imprisoned for a time after the coup of August 19. He went to Germany about 60 years ago to study. Mr. Tehrani played a fundamental role in creating a split in the Tudeh Party, founding the revolutionary organization of the Tudeh Party with a Maoist orientation. He also worked for a time in the Persian section of Radio Beijing and met Mao. Mr. Tehrani is one of the founders of the Confederation of Iranian Students and played a major role in anti-Shah activities abroad, spending some time in prison in Germany. He returned to Iran during the 1979 Revolution and participated in forming the Democratic Front, which opposed the Islamic Republic. Later, Mr. Tehrani had to leave Iran again and joined the National Council of Resistance abroad but separated from the council due to disagreements with the Mojahedin. Mr. Khan Baba Tehrani now lives in Frankfurt, and I have come to see him in this city. Thank you very much for participating in my program, Mr. Khan Baba Tehrani. First of all, can you tell us who you invited to the dinner party? The guests include Shahrokh Maskoub, Forough Farrokhzad, Hans-Heinz Heldmann, Nouraldin Kianouri, and Fereydoun Farrokhzad. The dinner menu includes chelow kabab. First, I am happy to see you. Secondly, I should explain that I had to choose these guests... because I have so many friends and acquaintances from childhood until now, and now that I am 82 years old, choosing five people is very difficult. I understand, it is really hard. Because, firstly, I have been a social person in all areas from politics and art to sports, which makes it very hard for me and leaves room for complaints from friends; the living ones. The dead are another matter. These five people are Shahrokh Maskoub, Forough Farrokhzad, Hans-Heinz Heldmann, who was my lawyer, Nouraldin Kianouri, the Secretary-General of the Tudeh Party, and finally Fereydoun Farrokhzad, who I met while studying in Munich. What music do you want to play at the dinner for these guests, from the German lawyer to Fereydoun Farrokzad, etc.? Regarding Mahdi Khan Baba Tehrani, he is one of the most famous Iranian political activists abroad. He began his political activities in his youth with the Tudeh Party and went to Germany about 60 years ago to study. In Germany, Mr. Tehrani was one of the founders of the Confederation of Students and spent some time in prison. He now lives in Frankfurt. I think the music I choose is also my choice imposed on them. It also arises from my life. I had difficulty choosing music as well. I have chosen the song 'Mara Bebus' by Hassan Golnaraghi. What effect has this music had on you? Its effect has been that all my life has been somewhat political and accompanied by sadness and blood and the departure of many dear companions, especially the revolutionary organization of the Tudeh Party officers with whom I was in prison and witnessed the execution of some of the others. All those things I heard in my youth during the nights of executions and the newspapers that reported the executions remind me of that time. Very well, Mr. Mahdi, your first guest is Shahrokh Maskoub. Why did you invite him? I met Shahrokh Maskoub when I was arrested after the coup of August 19. I was in the notorious bathhouses of the armored division where they brought someone who was under torture. During the short time I was with Shahrokh Maskoub in the armored prison, we walked in a small place that was really a mouse hole. They didn't give us books. Maskoub and I had sewn a backgammon board on a soldier's blanket with thread. We made pieces with dough. We poured mercurochrome on part of it and made it red, and part was white dough. We made dice. For me, he was a symbol of culture and literature. When we walked together, he whispered poetry. He would read and walk like the masters of the Shahnameh. I have many memories of him. Well, I was an athlete and Shahrokh was a few years older than me. Sometimes I would box. He was also a bit of a tough guy. Later, Shahrokh Maskoub became one of the best researchers in the field of Ferdowsi and the Shahnameh. Shahrokh Maskoub (1923-2005): Researcher, translator, and Iranian writer. Works: Introduction to Rostam and Esfandiar, Days on the Road, Incomplete Report, and other writings and translations. Reason for invitation: For me, he was a symbol of literature and culture, a symbol of ethics and nobility. Not only that, but I believe Shahrokh was a symbol of ethics and nobility. Later, Shahrokh told me that one day Colonel Zibayi... I must say this today since Shahrokh is not here so that the youth know what perseverance Shahrokh had... One day, after a year or two in prison in Qezel Qaleh, Zibayi took Shahrokh to the hills of Abbasabad and told him: 'Look at Tehran, how it shines. Why are you wasting your time here? Don't you want to go outside? Come, write a few lines and go. Express your hatred and leave.' He said, 'I have nothing to express hatred for.' Shahrokh persevered, staying in prison for six or seven years. One of your guests is Forough Farrokhzad. Forough Farrokhzad spent some years with her brother: Amir Masoud Farrokhzad (Dr. Farrokhzad), who was my friend and a student at the University of Munich and Forough's older brother. Fereydoun Farrokhzad was the younger brother. They were in Munich, and I was also studying in Munich. Forough also spent some time in Italy and worked on films there. During the time Forough was there, she visited us, especially my first wife. She was influenced by the atmosphere of our student association. Until one day I decided to become a revolutionary and became one. Without notice, I went underground. I disappeared. My wife didn't know where I went and went underground. Later, after years when I saw my wife, she said Forough told me, 'Where is Mahdi?' This was the case that Forough was in Munich and visited my wife. I had a son who was four years old at that time when I left for China. I went to the People's Republic of China and worked at Radio Beijing. The day I met Mao Zedong, in that famous swim where Mao broke the world record, I took a photo. We were with a group of representatives of writers from Asia and Africa. After that, our congress took us to meet Mao, which was the peak of the Cultural Revolution. A photo was taken of us with Mao. That photo was published in all the world's newspapers to say that Mao Zedong broke the world record and is alive and well. Forough saw me on German television. She was sitting at the D.F. and immediately called my wife and said, 'I found Mahdi. Mahdi is alive and in China.' Forough Farrokhzad (1935-1967): Iranian poet and documentary filmmaker. Works: This House is Black (documentary), Rebellion, Another Birth, Let Us Believe in the Beginning of the Cold Season. Reason for invitation: Her brother Amir Masoud was a friend of mine in Germany, and we became acquainted through this. Forough was for me a sensitive and very emotional girl. Forough, while she was in Munich, was she also pursuing political activities like you? It seems that many later said that all of Forough's leftist influences were during her stay in Europe, especially in Munich. I believe the direction of her poetry began in Munich. The Vietnam War was at its peak at that time, and our association was one of the political associations of the Confederation, which was one of the radical bases. Forough was interesting to you for what reason? For me, she was a sensitive girl, a very emotional girl. She was very affectionate. You also invited Fereydoun Farrokhzad as one of your guests. Why Fereydoun? When Fereydoun came there, he was studying law at a school where I was studying. But he was much younger than me. He married a woman who was originally Polish. He had a child who was disabled. I was also present at their wedding. I knew Fereydoun from Tehran as well. He was a member of the youth organization of the Tudeh Party of Iran. Fereydoun Farrokhzad (1936-1997): Iranian singer, entertainer, and television host. Famous works: It Was Night, It Was Desert, Sad Eastern. Reason for invitation: I knew Fereydoun from Tehran; he was a member of the youth organization of the Tudeh Party of Iran. He was a rebellious child and was extraordinarily talented. He was successful in every field he entered. I was the first to take Fereydoun to sing on stage. He started singing at the Nowruz celebration in Munich in 1959. From there he was with me, and sometimes his older brother was strict with him. Dr. Farrokhzad was very strict. Regarding Fereydoun? He was strict because Fereydoun had certain tendencies, and he was strict, and sometimes Fereydoun would come to me crying and moaning, saying, 'Please help me so Amir doesn't bother me.' Why does he bother you? What kind of personality was the Fereydoun you knew? Fereydoun was a rebellious child and was extraordinarily talented. He was successful in every field he entered. Many knew Fereydoun Farrokhzad as an entertainer, but you are giving a different image of him. Fereydoun, while he was in Munich, did some singing work, and it wasn't such a showy work he would do there. But when he went to Tehran, he established the Silver Nail show there and became famous. Regarding Fereydoun Farrokhzad, I heard from some sources that he had also developed leftist tendencies. Is that correct? Yes. He always considered himself leftist, and even here when he held shows, he would say, 'My communist friends came,' and he never hesitated to say that. But he ultimately had a tragic death; he was killed... Yes, badly. Well, it is clear what happened? It is clear. He had the sorrow of his mother, and he really wanted to see his mother and had even decided to go to Iran. They had contacted him and said, 'You can come and perform the Silver Nail shows. Only women are not allowed to sing. You can come and sing.' They had spread the seed. Now, that person who had come was Saeed Emami, who had gone to his house in Bonn or someone else, I don't know. But it is clear that two of their agents came and killed him in his house. In his house in Bonn. We come to your next guest, Hans-Heinz Heldmann. Hans-Heinz Heldmann (1929-1995): Lawyer in Germany. Fame: Criminal lawyer, immigrants, and foreigners. Reason for invitation: He was a young lawyer whom I accidentally met one night in a German café and later took my case when I was imprisoned in Germany. We arrive at your other guest, Hans-Heinz Heldmann, who is a lawyer. Yes, he was a young lawyer whom I met one night in a German café by chance and gave me his card. He said, 'I am a lawyer.' He invited us to his home, and after a year, the plan that SAVAK had at that time, my friend Khosrow Naraghi (who passed away in Tehran a few years ago after being released from prison) and I were arrested. In Germany? In Germany. In Munich. While I had a wife and children, and according to the law, they couldn't... I was a PhD in law. The children had gone to this lawyer who I had met by chance and said, 'They arrested so-and-so,' and he couldn't believe that someone would be arrested in Germany for dissent. He came to the temporary police prison to see me. He said, 'I can't believe it.' Until he finally believed it. Because the criminal laws and the examination of criminal law had not yet been reformed, the previous laws were still in place. He became my lawyer. At that time, he became my lawyer. He was my lawyer during the three and a half months I was in prison in Germany, and his friendship with us... he became a political person. A person who was not political became political. Because of you Iranians..! Yes. He fell in love with Iranians. He fell in love with Iranian women. He married an Iranian woman and later came to Iran and went to all the political courts in Iran. He went to the Nikkhah court. He attended the political courts in Iran during the Shah's time until the time of Hoiday... They expelled him from the Hilton Hotel. He came here furious. He became a famous lawyer in Germany, Mr. Heldmann. Therefore, for this reason, you want to invite him to the party? Yes. He was also one of the honorable people who stood by principles and became the lawyer for many Iranians. He was the most famous foreign lawyer in Germany and wrote several books about the rights of foreigners in Germany. So, by a coincidence, you Iranians led this gentleman astray! Yes. He fell in love with every Iranian woman he saw. The eyes of Iranian women, the maternal love, the sisterly love, the love of a lover, the love of a beloved... He went to Iran several times and later became the lawyer for Baader-Meinhof. He became the famous lawyer Andreas Baader in the courts here. We come to your last guest, Nouraldin Kianouri. Nouraldin Kianouri (1915-1999): Leftist political activist. Fame: First Secretary of the Tudeh Party of Iran from 1979 to 1982. Works: The Tudeh Party of Iran and the issues of our revolutionary homeland, Conversations with History, Memoirs. Reason for invitation: Kianouri was a very sympathetic person. He was very talented. He was a very skilled organizer. He was someone who could attract people.