The ministry of state security (stasi) its methods and activities Flashcards
Who was the Stasi headed by?
Erich Mielke
What was his disposition like?
Paranoid, nobody could be trusted
Dis the number of informers outnumber Gestapo?
Yes
If by the 1970s to 1980s people didn’t feel repressed what could this be testimony to?
The efficiency of the secret police preventing unrest
Media was geared towards what?
conformity
If a journalist criticised the regime what would happen?
demoted or lost their jobs entirely (then it is likely they were imprisoned and interrogated)
What did the FDJ and FDGB try and engender for the regime?
support, enthusiasm
When was the NVA founded (the national people’s army)?
1956
What was the purpose of the NVA?
so it could be called out to squash unrest and protest
NVA was part of which military alliance?
The Warsaw Pact
Which uprising did NVA not take part in?
the Czechoslovakian Uprising 1968
What was used to in 1962 to counter low participation levels of the NVA?
Conscription
In 1964 how many people were conscientious objectors to the NVA? What could they do instead?
12,000 to 15,000
They could wok in construction units
How many people were part of the army section of the NVA? How many made up for the organisation?
123,000 made up for the army section
179,000 made up entire organisation
what were the main roles of border guards?
to prevent escapes but also to deal with external threats
by the late 1980s how many border troops were there? (as in the number of people?)
50,000
How many of these policed the western border?
30,000`
There is still controversy about what?
The ‘shoot to kill’ policy on the borders however if border guards prevented escapers they were well rewarded and if their attempts unsuccessful they were undoubtedly punished
What year was the stasi created?
February 1950
what was their budget in 1989?
4 billion Ostmarks
What was the main aim of the Stasi?
To prevent uprising/protest of any kind to hinder the success of socialism
In which year did the stasi have files on 6,000,000 citizens?
1989
Why is the number of people under surveillance suggested to have been larger than it was first counted?
As the Stasi began to shred their files towards the end of the GDR
Why did the Stasi prefer index cards over electronics?
Could be used in the common power cuts they experienced
What were the three main surveillance methods used by the stasi?
Phone tapping, stalking and video surveillance
What have stasi officers been accused of?
Using radiation tags on suspects, explaining why there have been rare cancers found in their quarries
What are honey traps and why were they used by the stasi?
Honey traps are ways in which an attractive person can entice another person into doing things with them, the GDR used them via prostitutes and the acts they did together would be filmed and then used as incriminating evidence later.
What were the most common types of informer for the stasi?
The IMs (unofficial collaborators)
Why would somebody want to become an IM?
the motivations varied, some for greed, power, promotion at work, blackmail from authorities and political ideology
What was a very rare reward for an IM?
Monetary reward
how many people were IMs at some point during their lives?
500,000 or 1 in 30
what was the purpose of IMBs?
To spy on suspected organisations
What was the issue of having high levels of IMBs infiltrating suspected opposition groups?
There is a debate that suggests that by infiltrating in such high volumes it gave heart to other demonstrators, especially towards the demise because it gave the illusion of greater popularity regarding national unrest
What was the most famous stasi prison called and where was it located?
Hohenschonhausen in East Berlin
What would prisoners be subject to?
Intense psychological pressure and sleep deprivation, threatened their families would be arrested
What was an extreme case involving a woman and sick child?
This woman became involved with an escape group and she was sentenced to four years hard labour because she wanted to see her seriously sick child in West Berlin
What are the stasi still adamant about to this day?
that they only arrested criminals
How many troops did the USSR station by the 1980s in the GDR?
400,000
When did these troops actually intervene?
they intervened during Brezhnev’s visit to threaten Honecker in their meeting on July 28 1970
