The Stasi: Myth and Reality

by Mike Dennis, Norman LaPorte

The East German Ministry of State Security, popularly known as the Stasi, was one of the largest and most intrusive secret police systems in world history. So extensive was the system of surveillance and control that in any given year throughout the 1970s and 1980s, about one in fifty of the 13 million East German adults were working for the Stasi either as an officer or as an informer. Drawing on original sources from the Stasi archives and the recollections of contemporary witnesses, The Myth and Reality reveals the intricacies of the relationship between the Stasi enforcers, its agents and its targets/victims, and demonstrates how far the Stasi octopus extended its tentacles into people’s lives and all spheres of society. The origins and developments of this vast system of repression are examined, as well as the motivation of the informers and the ways in which they penetrated the niches of East German society. The final chapters assess the ministry’s failure to help overcome the GDR’s inherent structural defects and demonstrate how the Stasi’s bureaucratic procedures contributed to the implosion of the Communist system at the end of the 1980’s.

Genres: History, Germany, Nonfiction

269 pages, Paperback

First published June 30, 2003

About the author

Professor of Modern German History, School of Law, Social Sciences and Communications, University of Wolverhampton.

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads data base.

Reviews

[Joseph Sellors · Rating 3 out of 5]

An Orwellian Nightmare. The title of the first chapter sums the Stasi and the GDR up in a phrase. A regime where you could face arrest for simply withdrawing the wrong book in the local library, the Stasi played an essential role propping up and prolonging the socialist East German state.

This book is a very in depth look at the set up of the Stasi, and their role within the SED party. Not an easy book to read by any means, very slow going at times. My main criticism, however, would be the failure to assess the affect of the Stasi on the East German public and everyday life, and a much easier and enjoyable read can be had in Anna Funder's Stasiland, however this book is still well worth a read for GDR enthusiasts.

[Lily · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this as research for my history coursework last year. It was fascinating, but dense. Very heavy. I doubt I'd pick it up again.