Did you know any East German secret police? What were they like?

Members of the Stasi (Staatssicherheit, State Security = East German secret police) were pretty ordinary people. Some volunteered because they were convinced it was the right thing to do (a twisted sort of patriotism), some where in it for the career options and others had been blackmailed into working with the Stasi. At the end one out of every 6 adult citizens was directly giving information to the Stasi, reporting on friends, family members and colleagues.

You had the bizarre situation that sometimes people where ordered to marry "targets" because the state considered them a threat and they wanted one of their employees to keep an eye on the "subject".

People where blackmailed with a wide range of things - like not being allowed to study medicine, having their children snatched by the Children's Welfare Department, loosing their job, having their loved ones arrested on trumped up charges, etc. You just couldn't tell these guys no - if you did, you would quickly show up as enemy on their radar and become a "subject" yourself.

Yes, I did know some but at that time I was about 6 and they weren`t except their father. But I also know one of their victims. I donot regret spending 18 month of my life sitting in a NATO tank .

Greetings from Hamburg,Germany

Heinz

Yes, kind of...my boyfriend's mum knew them and even pointed one out to me a few months ago. She didnt like him...and said what a bad man he was. People had their suspicions about them.

Yes, a girl at my Uni had been in the Stasi as a schoolgirl.

She was a really nice woman and didn't regret her involvement at all.

Yes, Albert my butler was a Colonel in the Stasi

I think we should forgive them.

The GeStaPo or the StaSi.

Forgive these old men. Let them rest in peace.

@Alwin: Forgive them? Only someone who had never anything to do with them could say something stupid like that! Hell no!

Nein. Didn't know them. They were secret.