The Stasi as shield and sword of the party

On February 8, 1950, the Ministry for State Security was founded in the GDR. Immediately thereafter, the construction of a comprehensive monitoring network begins.

by Beatrix Hasse

"Proposals of the SED became law" was the headline in the Schweriner Landes-Zeitung on February 9, 1950. As usual, the paper provided extensive information about the results of the tenth plenary session of the People's Chamber from the previous day. The most important topic was the resolution of a new youth law. The most important news, however, was only found as a side note at the end of the text:"A law on the establishment of a ministry for state security was also adopted after the justification by Interior Minister Karl Steinhoff." The Schwerin readers probably had no idea on that day what consequences this sentence would have for them.

A comprehensive surveillance network

With the founding of the Ministry for State Security (MfS) on February 8, 1950, the systematic expansion of a comprehensive surveillance network in the GDR began, which lasted until the reunification of 1989. Most recently, around 91,000 full-time and around 180,000 unofficial employees worked for the secret intelligence service throughout the GDR. The Stasi was both the political secret police and the organ for criminal investigations, and also took targeted action against members of the opposition and dissidents in the GDR population. They were often the victims of perfidious methods of surveillance, delivery and interrogation.

The Stasi did not shy away from using so-called decomposition methods. This included "the systematic discrediting of public reputation" or "creating distrust and mutual suspicion".

Definition of the image of the enemy

Interior Minister Steinhoff justified the establishment of the new State Security Ministry by saying that its task would be to protect state-owned companies and the transport system, remove saboteurs and wage a ruthless fight against bandits in their own ranks. The image of the enemy of the still young GDR was thus defined - and left enough leeway for a generous interpretation of the terms by the SED government.

A week later, the personal details were announced:Wilhelm Zaisser, who enjoyed the confidence of the Soviet occupying power, became head of the new ministry with headquarters in Berlin's Normannenstraße. The later head of the Stasi, Erich Mielke, was initially only given the post of State Secretary.

"Shield and Sword of the Party"

The new secret service based on the Soviet model had the task of implementing the decisions of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED) - and acting in their interests. The Stasi therefore saw itself as the "shield and sword of the party". "First there were the state administrations in the five states," explains Jens Gieseke from the Center for Contemporary History Research in Potsdam, who spent years researching the subject as an employee of the Federal Commissioner for Stasi Records (BStU). "The real turning point was the year 1952, when 15 district administrations were founded with the conversion to districts."

At the same time, the Ministry for State Security built up district offices in all urban and rural districts - and massively expanded its workforce. At the 2nd party conference of the SED in July 1952, Walter Ulbricht had previously announced the "intensification of the class struggle". As a result, the Stasi almost doubled its full-time staff to around 8,800.

Slow development in the north

In the three northern districts of Schwerin, Neubrandenburg and Rostock, the development of the structures and the monitoring network progressed rather slowly in the early years. Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia were the pioneers in expanding this network, says Gieseke.

In 1953, as part of the conspiratorially prepared "Operation Rose", the state expropriated hotel and pension owners in the north of the GDR. Their holiday properties were handed over to the Free German Trade Union Confederation (FDGB). More than 400 people were arrested and sentenced to prison terms by a special court. Expropriations had already taken place all over the country and fueled the resentment of the GDR population.

In the same year, workers across the country protested against the state-imposed increase in labor standards:while the popular uprising in other regions such as Berlin, Saxony and Thuringia was already in full swing on June 17, demonstrations and protests only took place in the north a day later - mostly in the port cities like Wismar, Stralsund and Rostock. The People's Police, MfS and the Soviet Army nipped the actions in the sparsely populated Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania in the bud.

Change at the top of the MfS

However, the power of the SED, against whose policies the protests of the workers and peasants were directed, had been shaken to the core. The demonstrators even stormed MfS offices. As a result, according to the BStU, there were 13,000 to 15,000 arrests and 18 executions by Soviet military tribunals in the GDR.

Stasi chief Zaisser had fallen out of favor with the Ulbricht government and was dismissed as minister in July 1953 for "anti-party factional activity". Ernst Wollweber took over his post. The MfS was devalued to the status of State Secretariat and was only given the status of a ministry again two years later. The Wollweber era lasted until 1957, after which Erich Mielke became head of the GDR State Security and remained so until the end.

Expansion of the surveillance network

From the late 1960s and somewhat later under the Honecker government, the "preventive security state" was expanded, says Jens Gieseke. "It was about recognizing possible political deviations in society as a whole in advance and thus getting them under control." The result was an extreme increase in personnel from the 1970s onwards. According to Gieseke, the main thing during this phase was to really minimize the influence of the West, which became stronger again as a result of the Basic Treaty and the new Ostpolitik. In the end there was an almost complete network of spies and surveillance, which penetrated all areas of life of the GDR citizens - a "credit" of the new Stasi boss, who was loyal to the line.

Of course, this development did not go unnoticed in the north of the GDR. The Stasi soon realized that certain dangers were lurking in the Rostock district:the port from which GDR sailors set sail and where international seafarers disembarked posed a risk as a potential loophole to go abroad. A separate department therefore monitored the area. The region was also a popular holiday area for GDR citizens. The proximity to the sea seemed all too tempting for a possible escape attempt across the water.

According to the MfS, the need for surveillance grew steadily, as a result the Rostock district administration was expanded and in 1980, with 3,072, was the largest of the 15 GDR offices. In 1989 it was still in second place with 3,827 full-time employees - just behind Potsdam. In comparison, the other two northern district administrations had a much smaller staffing level:Schwerin had just under 2,300 employees, and around 1,900 full-time employees were most recently employed in sparsely populated Neubrandenburg.

The end of the Stasi

After the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989, the tide turned:the Stasi quickly became the target of the GDR population, including those in the north. In the first week of December, civil rights activists stormed the offices in Schwerin, Neubrandenburg and Rostock - and demanded that the files be handed over. Above all, they wanted to prevent important documents from being destroyed.

After the Stasi had existed as the Office for National Security for a short time, it was dissolved by government decision in early 1990. Then the difficult chapter of processing began, which continues to this day. Especially in the early days, it was significantly influenced by a Rostock pastor:Joachim Gauck, who became the first federal commissioner for the Stasi documents in 1991.