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Jim
Lv 7
Jim asked in Society & CultureLanguages · 6 years ago

What are the words in the German abbreviation "IMV?" The usage seems to be for a pseudonym or alias of an informant or agent of the MfS.?

From my files received from the BStU.

http://www.bstu.bund.de/EN/Home/home_node.html

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  • 6 years ago
    Favorite Answer

    IM = inoffizieller Mitarbeiter - an unofficial collaborator [ of the Stasi, in the former East Germany]

  • Jim
    Lv 7
    6 years ago

    Update:

    Oddly, I received an answer from Boodil that I can read in my notifications that doesn't show up here.

    Boodil answered your question What are the words in the German abbreviation "IMV?" The usage seems to be for a pseudonym or alias of an informant or agent of the MfS.?

    After someone else already identified the first 2 letters, I googled my head off trying to find out what the V means. Seems like IMV stands for "Inoffizielle Mitarbeiter/Verdacht Feindtätigkeit" (unofficial employee / suspicion (of) hostile activities). In other words, undercover agents specialized in finding enemies of the state."

    This is helpful,not because of the content, but because it shows an informational structure with the adjective last in order. I think it is probably, vertrauenswürdigen or trusted. There might be a IMF for ~~fragwürdige Vertrauenswürdigkeit. or IMU for ~~ Unausgereifte

    So, I think that "Inoffizielle Mitarbeiter/vertrauenswürdigen" is IMV.

    The DDR was full of informants and there were casual ones in the file who were identified with their real names, but these were redacted out by the BStU.

    Has anyone else had a problem with answers not being included?

    Thanks Boodli for your work. I don't know why it wasn't included in the regular way.

    I think it takes a bit of spcialized knowledge to answer this. The movie, Das Leben der Anderen, and the novel, Es muß nicht immer Kaviar sein, would be helpful for understanding some of the the intricacies of Intelligence agency practices.

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