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Stasi
| Ministerium für Staatssicherheit | |
 Seal of the Stasi | |
| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 8 February 1950 |
| Dissolved | 13 January 1990[1][page needed] |
| Type | Secret police |
| Headquarters | Lichtenberg, East Berlin |
| Motto | Schild und Schwert der Partei (Shield And Sword Of The Party) |
| Employees |
|
| Agency executive |
|
The Ministry for State Security (German: Ministerium für Staatssicherheit, pronounced [minɪsˈteːʁiʊm fyːɐ̯ ˈʃtaːtsˌzɪçɐhaɪ̯t]; abbreviated MfS), commonly known as the Stasi (pronounced [ˈʃtaːziː] ⓘ, an abbreviation of Staatssicherheit), was the state security service and secret police of East Germany from 1950 to 1990. It was one of the most repressive police organisations in the world, infiltrating almost every aspect of life in East Germany, using torture, intimidation and a vast network of informants to crush dissent.[3]
The function of the Stasi in East Germany (the GDR) resembled that of the KGB in the Soviet Union, in that it served to maintain state authority and the position of the ruling party, in this case the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED). This was accomplished primarily through the use of a network of civilian informants who contributed to the arrest of approximately 250,000 people in East Germany.[4] It also had a large elite paramilitary force, the Felix Dzerzhinsky Guards Regiment, that served as its armed wing. Known as "the shield and the sword of the party", the Stasi locked up opponents of the regime. Officers tortured prisoners by isolating them, depriving them of sleep and using psychological tricks such as threatening to arrest relatives.[5]
The Stasi also conducted espionage and other clandestine operations outside the GDR through its subordinate foreign-intelligence service, the Office of Reconnaissance, or Head Office A (German: Hauptverwaltung Aufklärung or HVA). Its operatives also maintained contacts and occasionally cooperated with West German terrorists.[6]
The Stasi had its headquarters in East Berlin, with an extensive complex in Berlin-Lichtenberg and several smaller facilities throughout the city. Erich Mielke, the Stasi's longest-serving chief, controlled the organisation from 1957 to 1989 — 32 of the 40 years of the GDR's existence. The HVA, under the leadership of Markus Wolf from 1952 to 1986, gained a reputation as one of the most effective intelligence agencies of the Cold War.[7][need quotation to verify][8]
After the German reunification of 1989–1991, some former Stasi officials were prosecuted for their crimes,[9] and the surveillance files that the Stasi had maintained on millions of East Germans were declassified so that all citizens could inspect their personal files on request. The Stasi Records Agency maintained the files until June 2021, when they became part of the German Federal Archives.
- ^ Vilasi, Antonella Colonna (9 March 2015). The History of the Stasi. AuthorHouse. ISBN 9781504937054.
- ^ Hinsey, Ellen (2010). "Eternal Return: Berlin Journal, 1989–2009". New England Review. 31 (1): 124–134. JSTOR 25699473.
- ^ Marsh, Sarah (29 October 2009). "Stasi files still cast shadow for Germans". Reuters. Retrieved 5 November 2024.
Founded in 1950, the Stasi was one of the most repressive police organisations in the world. It infiltrated almost every aspect of life in East Germany, using torture, intimidation and a vast network of informants to crush dissent. Millions of Germans worked for the Stasi and provided reports on friends, family, colleagues or lovers. The files, which would stretch for 112 km (70 miles) if laid out flat, were opened up to the public in 1992, exposing a web of betrayals.
- ^ Germans campaign for memorial to victims of communism Archived 10 May 2023 at the Wayback Machine, BBC News, 31 January 2018
- ^ Chambers, Madeline (4 November 2009). "No remorse from Stasi as Berlin marks fall of Wall". Reuters. Retrieved 15 November 2024.
Known as "the shield and the sword of the party," the Stasi locked up opponents of the regime. Officers tortured prisoners by isolating them, depriving them of sleep and using psychological tricks such as threatening to arrest relatives.
- ^ Blumenau, Bernhard (2018). "Unholy Alliance: The Connection between the East German Stasi and the Right-Wing Terrorist Odfried Hepp". Studies in Conflict & Terrorism. 43: 47–68. doi:10.1080/1057610X.2018.1471969. hdl:10023/19035.
- ^ Blumenau, Bernhard (2 September 2014). The United Nations and Terrorism: Germany, Multilateralism, and Antiterrorism Efforts in the 1970s. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 29–32. ISBN 978-1-137-39196-4.
- ^ Volodarsky, Boris Borisovich (30 June 2023). The Murder of Alexander Litvinenko: To Kill a Mockingbird. Barnsley, South Yorkshire: White Owl. ISBN 9781399060196. Archived from the original on 18 July 2023. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
Suddenly, the East German Ministerium für Staatssicherheit (MFS), better known as the Stasi, came to light, and specifically its Chief Directorate 'A' (Hauptverwaltung Aufklärung, HVA) under Markus 'Misha' Wolf. It was one of the most effective spy agencies of the Cold War.
- ^ Willis, Jim (24 January 2013). Daily Life behind the Iron Curtain. The Greenwood Press Daily Life through History Series. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO. ISBN 9780313397639. Archived from the original on 18 July 2023. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
The Stasi destruction of many records, plus the German statute of limitations on crimes, plus the desire by some politicians to leave the divisive past behind have resulted in few prosecutions of former Stasi officials and the actual imprisonment of even fewer.
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