BStU
Encyclopedia
The Federal Commissioner for the Stasi Archives is a federal government agency
of Germany
that preserves and protects the archives and investigates the past crimes of the former Stasi
, the secret police
and intelligence
organization of the communist German Democratic Republic
(East Germany). Since March 2011, Roland Jahn
has been head of the agency. He succeeded Marianne Birthler
as federal commissioner.
The agency is subordinate to the Representative of the Federal Government for Culture (Bernd Neumann
, CDU). As of 2010, it has 1 687 employees.
The agency is a founding member organisation of the Platform of European Memory and Conscience
.
In German, the office is informally often referred to as the Gauck office , Birthler office or Jahn office after the first, second and third federal commissioners respectively.
With the German Reunification
on October 3, 1990 a new government agency was founded to preserve the archives of the Stasi, named Special Representative for the Stasi-Records, later the BStU.
In 1992, following a declassification ruling by the German government, the Stasi records were opened to public access, leading people to look for their files. Timothy Garton Ash
, an English historian, wrote The File: A Personal History after reading the file compiled about him while he completed his dissertation research in East Berlin.
In 1995, the BStU began reassembling also the shredded documents; since then the archivists commissioned to the projects had reassembled 400 bags; they are developing now a System for computer-assisted data recovery to reassemble the remaining 15,000 bags — estimated at 33 million pages.
The CIA acquired some Stasi records concerning the espionage of the Stasi. The Federal Republic of Germany has asked for their return and received some in April 2000. Since the year 2003 the data of the so called Rosenholz files
is a part of the Stasi Records of the BStU.
At its zenith, the Stasi had records on some 6 million people. It also had an archive of sweat and body odor samples.
to the media, found out that the BStU at one point employed at least 79 former Stasi members and still employed 52 as of 2009. The great majority of these were hired from the "bodyguards" branch of the Stasi; some were former archivists and some were just technicians. There was suspicion that some of these former Stasi officers managed to manipulate records, so nowadays no former Stasi officers are allowed to enter the Stasi Archives by themselves. The report recommended, for several reasons besides the issue of former Stasi officers working for the BStU, to integrate the BStU into the German Federal Archives
. It also reported there was a constitutionally questionable situation. In summer 2008, the German Parliament
decided to found an expert commission to analyze the role and future of the BStU.
Federal agency (Germany)
Federal agencies in Germany are established to assist the country's executive branch on the federal level according to of the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany...
of Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
that preserves and protects the archives and investigates the past crimes of the former Stasi
Stasi
The Ministry for State Security The Ministry for State Security The Ministry for State Security (German: Ministerium für Staatssicherheit (MfS), commonly known as the Stasi (abbreviation , literally State Security), was the official state security service of East Germany. The MfS was headquartered...
, the secret police
Secret police
Secret police are a police agency which operates in secrecy and beyond the law to protect the political power of an individual dictator or an authoritarian political regime....
and intelligence
Intelligence (information gathering)
Intelligence assessment is the development of forecasts of behaviour or recommended courses of action to the leadership of an organization, based on a wide range of available information sources both overt and covert. Assessments are developed in response to requirements declared by the leadership...
organization of the communist German Democratic Republic
German Democratic Republic
The German Democratic Republic , informally called East Germany by West Germany and other countries, was a socialist state established in 1949 in the Soviet zone of occupied Germany, including East Berlin of the Allied-occupied capital city...
(East Germany). Since March 2011, Roland Jahn
Roland Jahn
Roland Jahn is a German journalist and former East German dissident who took office as Federal Commissioner for the Stasi Archives in March 2011.- Education and activism :...
has been head of the agency. He succeeded Marianne Birthler
Marianne Birthler
Marianne Birthler is a German human rights advocate and politician of the Alliance '90/The Greens...
as federal commissioner.
The agency is subordinate to the Representative of the Federal Government for Culture (Bernd Neumann
Bernd Neumann
Bernd Neumann is a German politician.- Biography :Neumann was born in Elbing, East Prussia, now Elbląg, Poland. Following the Flight and Expulsion of Germans after World War II he found refuge in Bremen, West Germany. Neumann studied from 1961 to 1966 at the University of Bremen and later he...
, CDU). As of 2010, it has 1 687 employees.
The agency is a founding member organisation of the Platform of European Memory and Conscience
Platform of European Memory and Conscience
The Platform of European Memory and Conscience is an educational project of the European Union bringing together government institutions and organisations from EU countries active in research, documentation, awareness raising and education about the crimes of totalitarian regimes...
.
Name
The agency is formally called the Office of the Federal Commissioner Preserving the Records of the State Security Service of the former German Democratic Republic .In German, the office is informally often referred to as the Gauck office , Birthler office or Jahn office after the first, second and third federal commissioners respectively.
History
During the regime's final days, Stasi officials shredded documents with paper shredders and by hand. As people heard of this, they quickly formed committees of citizens and occupied local Stasi-Branches, the first on December 4, 1989 in the east-German town of Erfurt. In a public demonstration they finally gained access to the Stasi headquarters on January 15, 1990 and halted the destruction.With the German Reunification
German reunification
German reunification was the process in 1990 in which the German Democratic Republic joined the Federal Republic of Germany , and when Berlin reunited into a single city, as provided by its then Grundgesetz constitution Article 23. The start of this process is commonly referred by Germans as die...
on October 3, 1990 a new government agency was founded to preserve the archives of the Stasi, named Special Representative for the Stasi-Records, later the BStU.
In 1992, following a declassification ruling by the German government, the Stasi records were opened to public access, leading people to look for their files. Timothy Garton Ash
Timothy Garton Ash
Timothy Garton Ash is a British historian, author and commentator. He is currently serving as Professor of European Studies at Oxford University. Much of his work has been concerned with the late modern and contemporary history of Central and Eastern Europe...
, an English historian, wrote The File: A Personal History after reading the file compiled about him while he completed his dissertation research in East Berlin.
In 1995, the BStU began reassembling also the shredded documents; since then the archivists commissioned to the projects had reassembled 400 bags; they are developing now a System for computer-assisted data recovery to reassemble the remaining 15,000 bags — estimated at 33 million pages.
The CIA acquired some Stasi records concerning the espionage of the Stasi. The Federal Republic of Germany has asked for their return and received some in April 2000. Since the year 2003 the data of the so called Rosenholz files
Rosenholz files
The Rosenholz files are a collection of 381 CD-ROMs containing 280,000 files with information on employees of the Hauptverwaltung Aufklärung , one of the intelligence agencies of the former GDR...
is a part of the Stasi Records of the BStU.
At its zenith, the Stasi had records on some 6 million people. It also had an archive of sweat and body odor samples.
Controversy
Controversy erupted after an investigation, whose report had been leakedWikileaks
WikiLeaks is an international self-described not-for-profit organisation that publishes submissions of private, secret, and classified media from anonymous news sources, news leaks, and whistleblowers. Its website, launched in 2006 under The Sunshine Press organisation, claimed a database of more...
to the media, found out that the BStU at one point employed at least 79 former Stasi members and still employed 52 as of 2009. The great majority of these were hired from the "bodyguards" branch of the Stasi; some were former archivists and some were just technicians. There was suspicion that some of these former Stasi officers managed to manipulate records, so nowadays no former Stasi officers are allowed to enter the Stasi Archives by themselves. The report recommended, for several reasons besides the issue of former Stasi officers working for the BStU, to integrate the BStU into the German Federal Archives
German Federal Archives
The German Federal Archives or Bundesarchiv are the National Archives of Germany. They were established at the current location in Koblenz in 1952....
. It also reported there was a constitutionally questionable situation. In summer 2008, the German Parliament
Bundestag
The Bundestag is a federal legislative body in Germany. In practice Germany is governed by a bicameral legislature, of which the Bundestag serves as the lower house and the Bundesrat the upper house. The Bundestag is established by the German Basic Law of 1949, as the successor to the earlier...
decided to found an expert commission to analyze the role and future of the BStU.