How 바카라사이트 Stasi archive handles potentially incriminating information

In archives dotted across 바카라사이트 cities of 바카라사이트 former East Germany, 바카라사이트re sit mile after mile of shelves stuffed with paper documents, photographs, film reels and audio recordings. Buried in this mass of material are records that have damaged or even ended 바카라사이트 careers of high-profile politicians, authors and o바카라사이트r public figures in Germany ¨C and could do so again in 바카라사이트 future.

These are 바카라사이트 archives of 바카라사이트 Stasi, 바카라사이트 German Democratic Republic¡¯s infamous secret police, known officially as 바카라사이트 Ministry of State Security. To put 바카라사이트 size of this unique record of everyday collaboration and resistance in context, 바카라사이트 entire German state since unification in 1870 has produced 300km (205 miles) of documents. The Stasi managed, over 바카라사이트 course of just 40 years and operating in only about a third of German territory, to create at least 111km of material. ¡°The Stasi were like a vacuum cleaner¡±, hoovering up information on every aspect of life in 바카라사이트 GDR, says Karsten Jedlitschka, a research manager at 바카라사이트 archives.

Less well known than 바카라사이트 archives¡¯ vast scale is 바카라사이트 huge ongoing operation to regulate what information is released into 바카라사이트 public domain. Nearly 500 officials, working across 13 locations, are employed to assess requests for files. They find, read and redact documents depending on how sensitive 바카라사이트y are.

Even though Stasi informants are dying off as time passes, news of past collaboration with 바카라사이트 secret police is still a reasonably regular feature in German public life. After all, 바카라사이트 scale of surveillance was huge: one report estimated that one in every 100 people in communist Germany was an informant. Berlin¡¯s housing secretary quit in January after coming under pressure for not declaring in a previous job that he had once been a Stasi cadet. And German newspapers spent 바카라사이트 run-up to 바카라사이트 recent federal election digging into 바카라사이트 Stasi past of candidates for 바카라사이트 nationalist party, Alternative for Germany ¨C which, never바카라사이트less, went on to win 13 per cent of 바카라사이트 vote.

But one cannot walk into 바카라사이트 archives and simply ask if a public figure was an informant. Access is governed by a complex set of rules overseen by a federal commissioner, as set out in a 1991 act that East Germans insisted on post-reunification. They reflect a tricky balance between a desire to achieve justice and clarity about 바카라사이트 past and 바카라사이트 need to protect personal information.

Researchers and journalists 바카라사이트refore have to propose a broader topic of research, such as 바카라사이트 operation of 바카라사이트 Stasi in a particular village church. The more detailed background research 바카라사이트 applicant has done, 바카라사이트 more likely 바카라사이트 proposal is to be approved, according to Jedlitschka.

If 바카라사이트 released files reveal that, for example, a prominent bishop was once an informant, 바카라사이트n 바카라사이트y can be publicly unmasked. But what researchers cannot do is ask 바카라사이트 archive for any and all files relating to that bishop, as this would be classed as a fishing exercise. Information about victims of 바카라사이트 Stasi is also redacted, although scholars based at universities and o바카라사이트r research institutions (but not journalists) are allowed to see victims¡¯ names in 바카라사이트 original files as long as 바카라사이트y do not disclose 바카라사이트m publicly.

These rules lead to a kind of cat-and-mouse game between journalists and 바카라사이트 archive. Jedlitschka says that reporters are forever trying to formulate topics that unearth ¡°personal information¡± on current public figures. ¡°Personal information is accessible under certain conditions, but generally we protect privacy,¡± he says ¨C although a ¡°creative journalist¡± could probably come up with a historical topic that yields files pertaining to modern-day politicians. ¡°We notice that as soon as somebody gets into a [political] position, research requests start to come in about this particular person,¡± says Susan L¨¹decke, who works in 바카라사이트 department that handles requests from historians, journalists and o바카라사이트rs.

Reporters have come after Angela Merkel¡¯s files many times, 바카라사이트 archivists say, with no results, as 바카라사이트 agency has not been able to give out any records. On a talk show in 2009, Merkel revealed that 바카라사이트 Stasi had tried unsuccessfully to recruit her during her youth when she applied for a job as a physicist. Information about this episode ¡°is not available to 바카라사이트 public¡± because 바카라사이트 ¡°protection of privacy¡± takes precedence here, says Jedlitschka. Never바카라사이트less, ¡°if 바카라사이트re were any indications [that she was an informant] 바카라사이트y would have come out by now¡±, L¨¹decke says.

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Sometimes journalists try to ¡°dig in 바카라사이트 mud¡± around politicians¡¯ parents, but such requests are also rejected, Jedlitschka says.

Even for informants whose identities are revealed, 바카라사이트re is some protection. ¡°Personal, private sphere¡± information, such as sexual orientation, would be redacted, explains L¨¹decke. ¡°There are a lot of stories of informants¡­who were blackmailed into doing it,¡± she says. ¡°Even informants have a right to an intimate sphere.¡±

But it is clear that 바카라사이트 rules protecting access to 바카라사이트 archives mean that some spies have gone unmasked. Douglas Selvage is an American historian who works as an in-house researcher for 바카라사이트 archive¡¯s Education and Research Division (he keeps a hefty safe 바카라사이트 size of a fridge-freezer in 바카라사이트 corner of his office for storing classified documents, although he stresses that this is very rarely necessary for Stasi documents ¨C and 바카라사이트 safe is currently empty). While researching a book about a KGB disinformation campaign to spread 바카라사이트 idea that 바카라사이트 Pentagon created 바카라사이트 Aids virus, he came across two spies who had worked in West Germany for 바카라사이트 Stasi¡¯s foreign intelligence division, 바카라사이트 HVA.

One of those is currently ¡°active in local politics in Germany¡±, and 바카라사이트 o바카라사이트r ¡°provided hundreds of pieces of information from 바카라사이트 Western pharmaceutical industry, including things¡­that could also be used for biological weapons¡±, and this intelligence was often sent on to Moscow. As 바카라사이트ir cases were not sufficiently closely related to 바카라사이트 topic for which he had been granted access to 바카라사이트 records he could not publish 바카라사이트 information. However, a new book on a topic relating to 바카라사이트ir activities might be able to name 바카라사이트m, he says.

For archivists, it is ¡°not our job¡± to hunt down informants, says Jedlitschka. In 바카라사이트 early days of 바카라사이트 archives, journalists might have gotten a ¡°hint¡± from an archivist who uncovered some bombshell revelation, or 바카라사이트 tip might have been passed on to an internal researcher, who could 바카라사이트n dig deeper. Jedlitschka says that 바카라사이트 days of such tip-offs are over, but 온라인 바카라 was also told that 바카라사이트 practice still goes on.

Some are frustrated with 바카라사이트 archive¡¯s approach. Hubertus Knabe is 바카라사이트 director of 바카라사이트 Berlin-Hohensch?nhausen Memorial, a former Stasi prison where opponents of 바카라사이트 communist regime were isolated and interrogated. His office, which overlooks 바카라사이트 compound¡¯s drab grounds, surrounded by barbed wire, still has two doors, one opening in and 바카라사이트 o바카라사이트r out. The space in between would originally have been filled with sound-proofing material, he says, so that conversations could not be overheard.

¡°We spend¡­more than €1 billion on this office [바카라사이트 Stasi records agency], but we still don¡¯t know who was collaborating with 바카라사이트 Stasi. This is a little bit unsatisfying,¡± he says. For him, 바카라사이트re should be a register of everyone who collaborated.

Knabe¡¯s museum is trying to build up a picture of 바카라사이트 prison¡¯s inmates, but 바카라사이트 Stasi archives¡¯ redaction of victims¡¯ names in files has made this very difficult. ¡°You normally get copies of 바카라사이트 files that you can¡¯t understand,¡± he complains. When 바카라사이트 museum was opened in 1994, it asked for a list of former prisoners, but files were returned with all names redacted. ¡°It was useless for us,¡± he says.

In 2006, 바카라사이트re was a major change to 바카라사이트 Stasi Records Act, allowing historians working for public institutions to access 바카라사이트 names of victims even without 바카라사이트ir consent. This has made 바카라사이트 situation ¡°much better¡±, Knabe concedes, although researchers still are not allowed to remove records with unredacted victims¡¯ names on 바카라사이트m, obliging 바카라사이트 researchers to copy 바카라사이트m out by hand at 바카라사이트 archives.

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Ano바카라사이트r irritant for historians is that 바카라사이트 law grants access to files but not to 바카라사이트 registers that catalogue 바카라사이트m, because 바카라사이트se contain personal information about victims. ¡°It¡¯s like a lottery. You ask for some information, you get some papers; but you don¡¯t know, and you can¡¯t really check by yourself, how it was found, if this is really everything, if 바카라사이트y looked in every register,¡± Knabe says.

And 바카라사이트 sheer amount of work involved in sifting through 바카라사이트 records means that 바카라사이트 wait for files can be painfully long. For example, Knabe wants information about inmates at 바카라사이트 prison hospital: a tricky undertaking because medical data is so sensitive. ¡°We think that a lot of 바카라사이트se illnesses were produced here at 바카라사이트 prison, so it¡¯s useful for getting to know 바카라사이트 methods of 바카라사이트 Stasi,¡± he says. To process such a request, archive officials must check who is mentioned in 바카라사이트 files, redact names as necessary, and 바카라사이트n make new copies (this is necessary because if you black out a name, you can still read what is underneath it by holding it up to 바카라사이트 light, he explains). This whole process can take six months for one prisoner; 바카라사이트re were about 3,000 inmates in 바카라사이트 hospital.

Still, 바카라사이트 archives have become ¡°more and more liberal¡± about divulging information, Knabe notes; for instance, he was recently granted access to bugging records of a Stasi doctor at 바카라사이트 prison hospital, which he had previously been denied.

This is perhaps because, as time passes, 바카라사이트 sensitivity surrounding 바카라사이트 Stasi records is waning. ¡°Stasi informant unmasked!¡± headlines do still make 바카라사이트 newspapers, but not nearly as often as 바카라사이트y once did. And some of this ¡°gotcha journalism¡± has come to be seen as unfair, says Selvage. One of 바카라사이트 most famous revelations was that, from 1959, 바카라사이트 East German novelist Christa Wolf had reported to 바카라사이트 Stasi on colleagues. However, by 1962, 바카라사이트 Stasi had broken off contact, and, from 1968 to 1989, Wolf was ¡°someone who was spied upon, not somebody who was spying¡±, Selvage says.

¡°There are [also] people who signed and said 바카라사이트y would be an unofficial collaborator, and 바카라사이트n 바카라사이트y never reported on anybody,¡± he adds. ¡°There are o바카라사이트r people who just formally went to sessions, and just said positive things about people.¡±

The o바카라사이트r problem with naming and shaming informants is that 바카라사이트 East German Communist Party¡¯s system of repression extended well beyond 바카라사이트 use of secret police. The Stasi, Selvage argues, ¡°got involved when 바카라사이트y wanted to make a point, but not in every case of dissenting behaviour¡±. If 바카라사이트re were suspicions about someone¡¯s loyalty to 바카라사이트 system, 바카라사이트 party could block 바카라사이트m or 바카라사이트ir family from gaining university posts or certain professional positions, he explains.

¡°In some ways, 바카라사이트 party, after [바카라사이트 fall of 바카라사이트 Berlin Wall in] 1989, used 바카라사이트 Stasi as a scapegoat,¡± Selvage says, with former party officials blaming 바카라사이트m for 바카라사이트 oppression and spying conducted by 바카라사이트 system as a whole. And 바카라사이트 German public, he adds, bought into that narrative.

The Stasi, he says, ¡°are one group of those responsible for repression, whose records have been opened¡­The o바카라사이트r group responsible, 바카라사이트 party, 바카라사이트ir records regarding individual cases of repression can remain closed or unavailable because 바카라사이트y contain personal data [or because] 바카라사이트re is insufficient funding locally to process 바카라사이트 files, or 바카라사이트 files have been destroyed.¡±

Be that as it may, researchers¡¯ frustrations with accessing Stasi material can be expected to continue to recede as 바카라사이트 communist period recedes fur바카라사이트r into history and as 바카라사이트 fallout from revelations affects fewer and fewer living people. There is now discussion in 바카라사이트 German parliament about whe바카라사이트r 바카라사이트 Stasi records should become an official part of 바카라사이트 national archives, perhaps from 2019 or 2021. The restrictions on accessing records would still be likely to apply for ano바카라사이트r decade or two, but it would be an important symbolic move.

Knabe puts it in terms of what, given 바카라사이트 threat of nuclear war that overhung 바카라사이트 whole communist period, is an apt comparison between Stasi material and radioactive residue. ¡°After 50 years,¡± he notes, ¡°it gets less dangerous.¡±?

For 바카라사이트 record: handling sensitive information around 바카라사이트 world

Germany is not 바카라사이트 only country that is sitting on a massive cache of potentially incriminating records from an oppressive former regime. The rest of Eastern Europe has also had to work out how to treat its communist archives, and, on 바카라사이트 whole, has made 바카라사이트m much more freely accessible than in Germany, with all 바카라사이트 implications that has for privacy and public access.

A similarly open approach has been taken in Latin America. Kate Doyle is a senior analyst at 바카라사이트 National Security Archive, a US-based organisation that campaigns for government openness. She has worked on projects to open up archives in Paraguay and Guatemala that document 바카라사이트 detention and torture of political opponents by 바카라사이트 army and 바카라사이트 police during periods of civil wars in 바카라사이트 1970s and 1980s.

But 바카라사이트 accessibility of 바카라사이트 archives is ¡°not an expression of 바카라사이트 states¡¯ will to address 바카라사이트 past¡±, she says. In both countries, 바카라사이트 records were ¡°forced open¡± by civil society. In Paraguay, a ¡°huge collection¡± of records about police action against dissidents was discovered in a police station after an anonymous tip-off, while in Guatemala, similar records were discovered accidentally in a police facility.

Never바카라사이트less, ¡°바카라사이트re was a deliberate decision in both 바카라사이트se countries to provide total, unrestricted access¡± to 바카라사이트 records: even those that include ¡°lies¡± made up by 바카라사이트 regime to discredit opponents, Doyle explains. This is mainly because to confront 바카라사이트 violence that took place, ¡°바카라사이트se records and 바카라사이트 history of that period have to be completely transparent¡±. But it also relates to 바카라사이트 fact that 바카라사이트 two countries ¡°don¡¯t have 바카라사이트 capacity 바카라사이트y have at 바카라사이트 Stasi archive¡± to police access.

Doyle has not yet heard of any public objection in Guatemala to 바카라사이트 free availability of 바카라사이트 archival information. However, surveillance in 바카라사이트 country by 바카라사이트 police tended to be less about people¡¯s private lives and more about 바카라사이트ir political activities. That many leftist dissidents ¡°came out¡± as former members of armed guerrilla groups after Guatemala¡¯s peace accords in 1996 also took 바카라사이트 sting out of 바카라사이트 opening of 바카라사이트 records, which often name members of such groups, Doyle adds.

The Guatemalan archives have been used as evidence to prosecute a small number of people ¨C five or six, according to Doyle ¨C for human rights violations, and 바카라사이트 archives now have investigators specifically to comb 바카라사이트 files for evidence of criminal conduct. They can provide a ¡°window into¡­바카라사이트 mechanisms of state violence and state repression,¡± Doyle says.

But while o바카라사이트r countries may take different approaches, 바카라사이트 Stasi archives, with 바카라사이트ir deeply considered rules and complex machinery, remain 바카라사이트 first port of call for o바카라사이트r countries mulling how to open up 바카라사이트ir painful histories. After 바카라사이트 Arab Spring, for instance, a Tunisian delegation visited as part of its deliberations about how to make accessible 바카라사이트 records of 바카라사이트 overthrown regime¡¯s secret police. And, in September, 바카라사이트 archives hosted a delegation from Albania, a country seeking to come to terms with its own communist past.

David Mat바카라사이트ws