The Secret Police in East Germany

Introduction

The control over the population of East Germany was exercised by a specific body, which was known as the Stasi or the Secret Police. The period of time during which it was operating can be considered unstable and, therefore, requiring particular efforts to manage the governments affairs, especially those related to communication with other countries (Orlow, 2018). Hence, it is no wonder that the organization of this nature was founded, and its methods were cruel to the people who frequently ended up in jail (Funder, 2002). In order to fully understand the role of the Stasi for both citizens and the authorities, it is vital to examine the membership, main procedures, ways of informing, and the reason behind the established practices.

The Secret Police: Who They Were

The Secret Police was formed under the influence of Communist ideas, and the people involved in this entity had corresponding views on the structure of the government and its functions. According to Orlow (2018), it was founded in 1950 and known as the ministry for state security, whereas all of its members have military ranks alongside the minister Wilhelm Zaisser and the chef Erich Mielke (p. 312). The latter participants were initially from the Politburo, and their main task was to establish a secret presence in all societal institutions in order to effectively conduct surveillance (Orlow, 2018). The control over the population was based on the information they gathered from a vast network of informers, who were spying on others in any setting, including families (Funder, 2002). Even though they were not only focused on internal affairs, they seem to be more significant for peoples lives compared to the initiatives developed with regard to West Germany with opposing views. Therefore, it can be stated that the Stasi was a body combining the efforts of military forces and officials to introduce communist ideals to the citizens for their future.

Recruiting Informers

Who Recruited Informers

In the context of this organization, one of the most essential procedures was recruiting informers who helped the authorities to gather substantial information about people and thereby eliminate the perceived threats to the new system. By the time the Stasi was finally dissolved, there were 91,015 full-time functionaries and 173,000 part-time informal collaborators, which allows concluding on the enormous scale of its activity (Orlow, 2018, p. 315). These individuals were selected by the ministers on the grounds of recommendations, included in the so-called Directive 1/79 On the Conversion of and Collaboration with Informers (Funder, 2002, p. 181). This provision included the key principles for the authorities in determining which individuals are suitable for the position.

How Informers Were Recruited

This procedure was guided by the considerations of feasibility from the perspective of the settings, which were prioritized in terms of surveillance, and the people, possessing specific characteristics, making them suitable for this role. It was even considered the science of recruiting informers or, as German activists called it, Spezialdisziplin (Funder, 2002, p. 179). Thus, the authorities initially determined the places which required interventions as potentially dangerous for the regime and applied the criteria to individuals in order to determine their appropriateness to the tasks. It is no wonder that these people were actually willing to cooperate since, at the time, their sense of duty was strong, and they seemed proud to be useful to the government (Orlow, 2018). Meanwhile, fear was another factor which affected their overall activity within the organization, as societal institutions were already operating with the inclusion of informers.

For example, the support of religious leaders was gained by selecting those spying on their peers in the churches of East Germany. As follows from the book of Orlow (2018), sixty-five percent of them were preoccupied with these tasks posed by the Stasi, and the rest of the activists were somehow under surveillance (p. 181). It means that their options were limited to the choice of either becoming an informer or risking their freedoms by being subject to the reports of colleagues directly to the members of the Secret Police. From the perspective of efficiency, this mechanism was well-thought and beneficial for the organization as it seems to have left no one without relating to it, one way or another. Even though the motives of people appear to be obvious, they are still more complicated than simply acting in the conditions of hopelessness and, therefore, should be particularly considered.

Why People Informed

The reasons why people preferred to inform the members of the Stasi not only about their peers but also families were multi-faceted. Otherwise, achieving mass participation and vast support of the organization during the time of its existence would have been unlikely. Thus, the individuals involved in surveillance within East Germany were mainly guided by their patriotism, as it was mentioned above. However, this phenomenon is more complex than it seems since its roots are in the previous hardships, which they wanted to prevent in the future while seeing the solution in this type of control (Orlow, 2018). This sentiment was complemented by the political convictions as many informers truly shared the Communist ideas, which laid in the basis of the Secret Police (Funder, 2002). From this point of view, the ideas of promoting the elaborated policies by informers were largely connected either to their own agreement with the developed course or the need for a sense of belonging.

Similarly, the motivation of those citizens who were guided by fear was not simple, as the possible adversities were related to all spheres of their lives. For instance, one might suggest that only societal and religious institutions were the places to which the activity of the Stasi spread. Nevertheless, it is not quite true, as individuals relationships were also widely monitored by the designed system. In this situation, any connections with foreigners were unacceptable to the government, and having an informer in ones family might have led to tragic consequences for the affected members (Funder, 2002). Since the risks of getting in jail were critical even in this setting, there was no place where they could feel safe. Due to these considerations, they preferred to spy on others rather than being secretly monitored by others.

What East Germans Thought About the Stasi

The conflicting views of supporters of the Stasi and the population of East Germany were formed under the influence of their convictions. Similar to Herr Winz, whom Miriam was trying to find in order to get some information about her husbands death in jail, the supporters of communism did not consider their actions inappropriate (Funder, 2002). Their belief in the fact that they were presenting an objective view of history in their documents was also another aspect, demonstrating the convictions of these people, which replaced rationality (Funder, 2002, p. 82). As opposed to them, the majority of East Germans did not see the events in a positive light, and their attitude was determined by the limits of freedoms in all the spheres of human life. Total control over them resulted in numerous failed attempts to flee, which were also punished by the authorities.

Considering this situation, the people in East Germany viewed the situation as critical to their wellbeing. Meanwhile, there are many reasons for this stance, as their attempts to cross the border with West Germany were caused not only by the overall oppression of the population but also by their living standards. The peace, emphasized by the leaders of the Stasi as a result of their work in the country, was complemented by financial hardships (Funder, 2002). They served as the main motivation for people to dislike the regime, even though direct opposition was impossible during the time of its existence, and citizens had to resort to the mentioned drastic measures.

Conclusion

To summarize, the Secret Police in East Germany, also known as the Stasi, was an organization established by military forces and ministers to exercise total control over the population. The activity of its members was effective due to the involvement of the so-called informers or ordinary citizens who were willing to spy on the others and report to the government. They were recruited by the authorities who were guided by official provisions, allowing them to determine suitable individuals for this role and, from the perspective of the setting, presenting a threat to the new system. In turn, the latters support was conditional either upon their patriotic sentiments or fear, and the attitudes of East Germans to the Stasi were negative due to the limits it posed to financial wellbeing and freedoms.