Erich Mielke’s Office
From here the last minister Erich Mielke commanded the Ministry for State Security. Besides the office including the secretariat and his private area, equipped on his own desires, you can see the offices of his inferiors and closest co-workers, the big conference room and the canteen.
During the reconstruction of house 1 Erich Mielke’s offices can’t be visited. But in order to provide an impression of the rooms from which Erich Mielke controlled the Stasi we show the original furnishing of his office. Other offices and the conference room can be seen on photographs. Until the end of 2010 the exhibition will be completed with further original exhibits, images and background information.
About the Ministry for State Security
The block of buildings of the Ministry for State Security measured about 20 hectares in area and was the workplace of about 8,000 employees in 1989. On the afternoon of 15 January 1990 representatives of the Citizens’ Committees from different districts, together with the Military State Prosecutor, took over the Headquarters in the Normannenstrasse.
This part of the exibition informs you about the Stasi organizational structure, the complex of buildings, the occupation of the headquarter and the dissolution of the Stasi.
Tradition-work in MfS
In this part of the exhibition items are shown that were used in the framework of “tradition work” and that were used as gifts on several occasions within the Stasi or between Stasi and the state security services of the other Eastern Bloc countries or between Stasi and it’s “partners of political-operative cooperation”.
Tradition work was part of the ideological education in the Stasi and aimed at the creation of a “Chekist personality” with traits like an “unconditional loyalty to the working class and its Marxist-Leninist party”.
The political-ideological education was a key part of the East-German educational system too. In all subjects children and juveniles were indoctrinated. As “socialist personalities” the SED wanted them to internalize the belief system of the communist ideology and to support the political system by any means.
Resistance and Opposition – Operational work of the MfS
The persecution by and resistance against the government body in East Germany from 1945 to 1989 is documented in this section. The dictatorship influenced all areas of life; leading officials decided which things were allowed and which were not. The enforcement of their will was carried out by the party, the labour unions, the state machinery (including MfS and police), the justice and the system of education. Already little aberrations were sometimes penalised with great hardness.
The exibition includes surveillance and observation technology, for example items to hide audio and photo technology (so called containers), wires, hidden infra red beamers for photographs at night and a lot more.
Most of the exhibited technology was produced in the 60s and 70s and was sporadically used till 1989. Of course the MfS was also equipped with most modern technology, but this technology mostly “disappeared” in the course of the disorganisation.
Finally the exhibition documents shortly the events that led in the end to the opening of the border and the downfall of the GDR until the reunion of Germany.
Foto prin amabilitatea lui Aurel Tar
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