Stasi Records Agency

Transcription

1 Stasi Records Agency

2 Contents 2 Cover: BStU archive, photo: BStU/Dresen p. 2: MfS file cards, photo: BStU/Hertel

3 Introduction 4 Archives 6 Access to Records 8 Public Information 12 Torn Documents 18 Regional Reappraisal Work 20 History 22 The BStU and its Regional Offices 24 3

4 Introduction 4 Demonstration on 7 October 1989 in Berlin (East), photo: Andreas Schoelzel p. 5: photo: rbb Kontraste

5 Reading Stasi Files. In the autumn of 1989, courageous women and men took great personal risk in the GDR (East Germany) when they seized the offices of the Ministry of State Security (MfS) and saw to it that the Stasi records were preserved. For the first time ever, the files of a secret police organisation were made accessible to the very citizens who had been kept under its surveillance. Learning How it Was. The SED, the ruling party in the GDR, used the State Security Service as its main instrument to systematically monitor its own population and exercise repression to assert its claim to power. The Stasi records that were rescued by East German citizens can be used by research, media and social institutions to identify who worked for the secret police and better understand how and why they did so. Service Provider for Society. The documents left behind by the State Security Service are stored in the archives of the Stasi Records Agency. It also organises their use, which is regulated by the Stasi Records Act (StUG). This short brochure explains how the records are administrated and describes how the agency uses research, education and information to inform the public about the structure and methods of the Stasi and show how it operated. The better we understand dictatorship, the better we can shape democracy. Roland Jahn Federal Commissioner for the Stasi Records (BStU) 5

6 Archives 6 MfS film reels, photo: BStU/Hertel

7 The Legacy of the MfS Although the State Security Service destroyed a massive amount of files, nearly 111 shelf kilometres of documents have been preserved in the archives of the BStU, along with many photographs, film, video and audio recordings. This material serves as evidence of an apparatus of informers, documents of planned and committed injustices, of conformity and betrayal, as well as proof of civil courage and resistance. Approximately half of these documents were stored in archives created by the MfS and classified according to the ministry s secret service principles. The remainder, found in a largely disorganised state in Stasi offices, was taken over by the BStU. Thousands of bags of torn up documents, the so-called pre-destroyed material, were also found there. In 2007, in collaboration with the Fraunhofer Institute for Production Systems and Design Technology (IPK) in Berlin, the BStU initiated a pilot project to attempt to virtually reconstruct these fragmented documents (see p.19). A decision by the German Bundestag on whether this new method should be extensively applied is expected in The archives in numbers (Berlin and regional offices)* Documents: 111 shelf kilometers Filmed documents: the equivalent of 47 shelf kilometres File cards: 39 million Photos, film negatives, slides: 1.8 million Film, video and audio recordings: 30,300 Fragmented material: 15,500 bags * The records of the former ministry headquarters as well as the former district administrations in Berlin and Potsdam are archived in Berlin; the files of the remaining 13 district administrations and the county offices are held in the BStU s 12 regional offices. 7

8 Access to Records 8 Application to view one s personal file, photo: BStU/Hertel

9 Viewing one s personal file Every individual has the right to view the documents that the MfS collected about them. Under certain conditions, relatives may also view the files on a deceased or missing family member. The request form for viewing a file is available at all BStU offices. It can also be downloaded from the Internet ( akteneinsicht) or sent by mail. To assure that unauthorised persons do not gain access to files, an ID must be presented as proof of identity. This can be done personally at the BStU offices or sent by mail through the appropriate state authority (registration or citizen s office) by presenting the request form. Use by public and non-public offices On the request of public and non-public offices, the Stasi Records Agency examines whether any evidence exists to suggest that certain individuals in important social and political positions cooperated with the Ministry of State Security. It is the responsibility of the requesting office to decide whether the examination is carried out and what consequences should be drawn from the results. The agency provides information needed for the purpose of rehabilitation, reparations, criminal investigations, danger prevention as well as pension concerns. The BStU also processes requests regarding property issues and the awarding of medals. 9

10 10 Scene from the movie The Lives of Others, photo: Hagen Keller

11 Research and media use Research and media representatives also have the right to view records. In this way the BStU assists in the work to reappraise the Stasi s historic and political impact. When requested, the BStU will provide records concerning the activities of the MfS and the power mechanisms in both the former GDR and the Soviet zone of occupation. The BStU also provides records to support research on the Nazi past, documents from the Third Reich that the Stasi used for its own purposes. The film The Lives of Others, parts of which were filmed in the archives of the Stasi Records Agency, is perhaps the best-known example of the media addressing the subject of the Stasi and how it operated. Research and publication findings based on the study of Stasi files contributed to this film and many other productions. A sample request letter for researchers and media representatives is available on the BStU homepage ( Requests in numbers From 1991 to mid-2012 the BStU received approx million requests and petitions to view records Including: Requests from citizens for information, to view or have copied files released: 2.9 million Requests from journalists and scholars: 27,000 Petitions to vet civil service employees: 1.7 million Petitions regarding rehabilitation, reparations, criminal investigations: 486,000 11

12 Public Information 12 Visitors in the Mielke Suite in the Stasi-Museum at the former Stasi complex in Berlin-Lichtenberg, photo: BStU/Dresen

13 Exhibitions The BStU s exhibitions provide information on the development and structure of the secret police in the GDR, as well as on its methods of surveillance and persecution. In addition to the two permanent exhibitions presented in Berlin, a travelling exhibition titled Feind ist, wer anders denkt (The Dissenter Is The Enemy) has been shown throughout Germany and Europe. The regional offices present several changing and travelling exhibitions, often with a local emphasis. Stasi-Museum The headquarters of the Stasi was located on 22 hectare of grounds in Berlin-Lichtenberg from Haus 1, built in 1960, formed the central area of the complex and housed the office of Erich Mielke, Minister for State Security. Haus 1 re-opened in January 2012 following extensive renovations and now presents temporary exhibitions created by the BStU and the association Antistalinistische Aktion Berlin Normannenstraße (ASTAK e.v.). They are currently working together on the creation of a new permanent exhibition. Ruschestraße 103, Berlin Museum hours: Mon Fri 11:00 am 6:00 pm Sat, Sun and holidays 14:00 pm 6:00 pm Admission: 5 euro, reduced: 4 euro Stasi. The Exhibition on the GDR Secret Police The exhibition in the BStU s educational centre provides an overview of the Stasi using documents from the East German secret police. It presents information on the ideology, function, methods and employees of the Stasi. It also shows examples of people who were kept under surveillance and processed by the Stasi. The often imperceptible influence of the Stasi on everyday life in the GDR is alluded to on ceiling-high exhibition panels. Zimmerstraße 90, Berlin Hours: open daily from 10:00 am 6:00 pm Admission is free 13

14 14 Pupils on a tour of the central office archive in Berlin, photo: BStU/Freiling

15 Schools The Stasi Records Agency organises teacher seminars and student projects to help schools teach about dictatorships. The BStU has also developed teaching resources and educational films and slides for the classroom. This material provides examples both of teenagers who were persecuted by the Stasi as well as young people who became Stasi informers. Special project days are also conducted in the BStU offices and in schools and other institutions. Events Internet The BStU homepage ( aims to inspire an interest in historic and political education in many different ways. The site offers an overview of the information resources provided by the Stasi Records Agency as well as specialised themes for research and information on the Stasi. The online platform includes a media centre with audio and video recordings from the Stasi as well as access to the archive s research aids. The BStU is also active on the social networks Facebook and Twitter and is seeking to more strongly engage in dialogue with the younger generation. The BStU uses various public platforms to inspire a lively exchange of ideas on Stasi-related subjects such as surveillance, conformism, civil courage and resistance. More than 200 events take place each year in Berlin, the regional offices, and throughout Germany, often in cooperation with other institutions that also address this history. 15

16 16 Specialised library of the Stasi Records Agency, photo: BStU/Böttcher

17 Research The authentic Stasi documents provide a broad range of source material for research into the structures, operating mechanisms, mentalities, work methods and historic impact of a modern secret police for the first time. The historians and scholars working for the Federal Commissioner for Stasi Records conduct basic research and publish numerous studies and primary source editions. In addition to monographs, there are a few key publications worthy of special note such as the MfS lexicon and the handbook Anatomie der Staatssicherheit, both of which provide structured and well-grounded information about the MfS, and the volume of ZAIG documents a collection of the reports sent by the MfS to the SED leadership. These publications can be purchased through the BStU, the Internet or bookstores and are also available in the BStU library. Many of these publications can be downloaded for free from the BStU homepage: Specialised Library The library in the Education and Research Department is a specialised scholarly library. It contains publications on subjects relevant to the reappraisal of the East German secret police. Although the library primarily supports the work of the agency s staff, it is open to anyone interested in this subject. In addition to books, the library s holdings, most of which are freely accessible, include journals and newspapers and numerous audiovisual media (CD, DVD and CD-ROM). The library maintains a large archive of German-language newspapers. Karl-Liebknecht-Straße 31/33, Berlin Library hours: Mon, Tues, Thurs 8:30 am 4 pm; Wed 10:00 am 6 pm; Fri 8:30 am 2:30 pm 17

18 Torn Documents 18 Torn documents stored in bags, photo: BStU/Dresen

19 Manual Reconstruction During the Peaceful Revolution of 1989/90, the MfS tried to destroy or make unusable as many documents as possible. To cover up evidence of injustice in the GDR, documents that recorded social political repression were to be eradicated. The destruction was stopped when the Stasi offices were stormed. Since 1995 employees in the Bavarian town of Zirndorf have been working on putting fragmented documents back together. They have succeeded in making thousands of pages of texts accessible again, including documents on the surveillance and persecution of wellknown figures in the opposition movement and critics of the regime such as Robert Havemann and Jürgen Fuchs. Virtual Reconstruction To continue putting these documents back together by hand would take hundreds of years. To speed up the reconstruction process, the German Bundestag has agreed to finance a pilot project which involves the automated reassembling of pages. For many years programmers have been developing elaborate software, known as the epuzzler, that is able to virtually reconstruct destroyed pages on the basis of similar features such as colour, torn edges and hand-writing. The technology being used for this is being developed by the Fraunhofer Institute for Production Systems and Design Technology (IPK). Additional computer-supported techniques are being worked on so that ultimately individual pages can be compiled into entire virtual cases or files that will be recorded in the archives and made accessible. 19

20 Regional Reappraisal Work 20 Former Stasi remand prison in Rostock, photo: BStU

21 The archives in the regional offices of the BStU provide specific evidence of the Stasi s influence throughout the entire country. The BStU maintains offices in 12 of the 14 former GDR district capitals outside of Berlin, assuring a citizen-centred and regional reassessment of the Stasi documents. The regional offices in Dresden, Erfurt, Frankfurt (Oder), Rostock and Halle also maintain information and documentation centres. These regional offices of the BStU organise special events and exhibitions, and work with schools to address various aspects of the repressive system in the GDR. Special emphasis is placed on the Stasi s regional influence. They have made a number of travelling exhibitions available to schools, memorial sites and public institutions. The files contain many documents on life and living conditions in the GDR as observed by the Stasi for example the environmental conditions in Leipzig, surveillance measures in Gera, the nuclear power plant in Stendal, the shipyards in Rostock and the Uranium mines in the south of East Germany (Wismut). Exhibitions on these and other subjects can be borrowed free of charge from the regional offices. The Documentation and Memorial Site in Rostock A documentation and memorial site (DuG) now exists in the former Stasi remand prison in Rostock. After the prison was built in 1959, thousands of prisoners were held there in pre-trial detention from 1960 to 1989, mostly for political reasons. In the DuG, visitors can see the cell block and original cells. Tours show visitors the prison yard, dark cells and prisoner transport vans. A permanent exhibition depicts everyday life in the Stasi remand prison and describes how the Stasi operated in the region of Rostock. Hermannstraße 34 b, Rostock (entrance across from the supermarket) Telephone: , dug-rostock@bstu.de Hours: March to October: open Tues 10:00 am 6:00 pm, Sat 10:00 am 5 pm November to February: open Tues Fri 9:00 am 5 pm, Sat 10:00 pm 5 pm Closed on Sunday, Monday and holidays Public tours: Wed and Sat at 2 pm Admission is free. 21

22 History 22 Jürgen Fuchs viewing his files on January 2, 1992, photo: Peter Wensierski

23 A new agency is established Winter 89/90: The Stasi offices and later the Stasi headquarters in Berlin are seized. August 1990: The Volkskammer (People s Chamber) resolves to open the files and passes a law to safeguard and regulate the use of Stasi documents. September 1990: A clause is added to the Unification Treaty calling for a law to be passed that contains the basic elements of the Volkskammer law and for the appointment of a special federal commissioner to oversee the Stasi records. December 1991: The Special Commissioner is renamed The Federal Commissioner for the Records of the State Security Service of the former German Democratic Republic when the Stasi Records Law comes into effect. January 1992: Citizens are able to view their files for the first time. September 2000: The Bundestag elects Marianne Birthler as Commissioner. January 2011: The Bundestag elects Roland Jahn as Commissioner. October 1990: Joachim Gauck is appointed Special Commissioner when the Unification Treaty comes into effect. 23

24 The BStU and its Branch Offices 24 BStU main headquarters in Berlin-Mitte, photo: Franz Brück

25 The headquarters of the Federal Commissioner for Stasi Records is located in Berlin. Regional offices exist in twelve former district capitals of the GDR: Chemnitz, Dresden, Erfurt, Frankfurt (Oder), Gera, Halle, Leipzig, Magdeburg, Neubrandenburg, Rostock, Schwerin and Suhl. Potsdam and Cottbus maintain counselling offices. Citizens can apply to view their files in any of the offices regardless of their place of residence. Special events and exhibitions are also open to the general public. More information on the work of the BStU is available online at: Contact information in Berlin Central office in Berlin Karl-Liebknecht-Straße 31/ Berlin-Mitte Mailing address: Berlin Tel.: Citizen s counselling office Personal counselling is available at the following times: Mon Thurs 8:00 am 12:00 pm and 1:00 pm 5:00 pm, Fri 8:00 am 2:00 pm Telephone counselling and appointments: Central office archive Ruschestraße 103, Entrance House Berlin Tel.: Fax: archivfuehrungen@bstu.bund.de Research and media inquiries AU 5 AU 6 Tel.: / Fax: / GZ.AU5@bstu.bund.de GZ.AU6@bstu.bund.de 25

26 26 Education and Research Department Tel.: Fax: Specialised Library opening hours: Mon, Tues, Thur 8:30 am 4:30 pm Wed 10:00 am 6:00 pm Fri 8:30 am 2:30 pm Tel.: Fax: History and Political Education and Exhibitions Tel.: Fax: Regional Offices of the BStU Regional Office Chemnitz Jagdschänkenstraße Chemnitz Tel.: Regional Office Dresden Riesaer Straße Dresden Tel.: astdresden@bstu.bund.de Regional Office Erfurt Petersberg Haus Erfurt Tel.: asterfurt@bstu.bund.de Regional Office Frankfurt (Oder) Fürstenwalder Poststraße Frankfurt Tel.: astfrankfurt@bstu.bund.de Regional Office Gera Hermann-Drechsler-Straße 1, Haus Gera Tel.: astgera@bstu.bund.de

27 Regional Office Halle Blücherstraße Halle Tel.: asthalle@bstu.bund.de Regional Office Leipzig Dittrichring Leipzig Tel.: astleipzig@bstu.bund.de Regional Office Magdeburg Georg-Kaiser-Straße Magdeburg Tel.: astmagdeburg@bstu.bund.de Regional Office Neubrandenburg Neustrelitzer Straße Neubrandenburg Tel.: astneubrandenburg@bstu.bund.de Regional Office Rostock Waldeck-Dummerstorf Tel.: astrostock@bstu.bund.de Regional Office Schwerin Görslow Tel.: astschwerin@bstu.bund.de Regional Office Suhl Weidbergstraße Suhl Tel.: astsuhl@bstu.bund.de Counselling Office Cottbus Karl-Marx-Straße Cottbus Every last Tuesday of the month 9:00 am 5:00 pm Counselling Office Potsdam Memorial Site Lindenstraße for the Victims of Political Violence in the 20th Century Lindenstraße Potsdam Every second and fourth Tuesday of the month 10:00 am 6:00 pm State: September

28 Stasi Records Agency Publisher: BStU photo: BStU/Dresen