The Stasi was the largest secret police that ever existed. This video will give an introduction, touching topics like:
- When was the Stasi founded?
- Who was the head of the Stasi?
- Did The Stasi work together with the KGB?
- How many people worked for the Stasi?
- What kind of businesses was The Stasi involved in?
- The Stasi files
I will issue more videos on Stasi related subjects soon.
When in Berlin, consider visiting the Stasi Museum: https://www.stasimuseum.de/en/enindex.htm.
Books:
• The History of the Stasi: East Germany's Secret Police, 1945-1990– Jens Gieseke (https://amzn.to/3JHwMTT)
• Seduced by Secrets: Inside the Stasi's Spy-Tech World - Kristie Macrakis (https://amzn.to/3JyJVyi)
• Stasi: The Untold Story of the East German Secret Police – John O. Koehler (https://amzn.to/3JzTPQs)
• Stasiland: Stories from Behind the Berlin Wall – Anna Funder (https://amzn.to/3ZHjts3)
[When using the links and ordering, I will receive a small commission. You don't have to use the links of course, but many thanks if you do!]
Sources:
• DVD: Stasi – Alltag einer Behörde
• https://www.mdr.de/geschichte/ddr/alexander-schalck-golodkowski-devisen-kredite-ddr-100.html
• https://www.jugendopposition.de/lexikon/sachbegriffe/148616/schild-und-schwert-der-partei
• Monika Tantzscher: Hauptabteilung VI: Grenzkontrollen, Reise- und Touristenverkehr (MfS-Handbuch). Hg. BStU. Berlin 2005.
• Angela Schmole: Hauptabteilung VIII. Beobachtung, Ermittlung, Durchsuchung, Festnahme (MfS-Handbuch). Hg. BStU. Berlin 2011. http://www.nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:0292-97839421300977
• State Security – A reader on the GDR Secret Police
• https://www.stasi-unterlagen-archiv.de/archiv/rekonstruktion/
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stasi
Pictures:
• Erich Mielke: By Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-1983-0325-037 / CC-BY-SA 3.0, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5342221
• Erich Mielke: Von Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-R0522-177 / CC-BY-SA 3.0, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5368048
• Ernst Wollweber: By Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-08658-0006 / Rudolph / CC-BY-SA 3.0, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5420453
• Wilhelm Zaisser: By Bundesarchiv, B 285 Bild-04246 / Unknown / CC-BY-SA 3.0, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5338536
• DDR foundation: By Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-G1122-0600-130 / Autor/-in unbekannt / CC-BY-SA 3.0, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5433682
• KGB Headquarters Moscow - By RIA Novosti archive, image #143644 / Alexander Polyakov / CC-BY-SA 3.0, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=17824131
• Wolfgang Welsch: By Herbaliser in der Wikipedia auf Deutsch, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=47391941
• Berlin Tegel Airport: By Arne Müseler / www.arne-mueseler.com, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=84355426
• Markus Wolf: By Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-1989-1208-420 / Schöps, Elke / CC-BY-SA 3.0, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5424913
• Map of the USSR and Europe: Kolja21, CC BY 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons