wikipedia
The Ministry for State Security (German: Ministerium für Staatssicherheit, MfS),
commonly known as the Stasi (IPA: [ˈʃtɑːziː]) (abbreviation German:
Staatssicherheit, literally State Security), was the official state security
service of the German Democratic Republic or GDR (informally known as East Germany).
The Stasi was headquartered in East Berlin,
with an extensive complex in Berlin-Lichtenberg and several smaller facilities
throughout the city. It was widely regarded as one of the most effective and
repressive intelligence and secret police agencies in the world. The Stasi
motto was "Schild und Schwert der
Partei" (Shield and Sword of the Party), that is the ruling Socialist
Unity Party of Germany (SED). Now considered a criminal organisation, several
Stasi officials were prosecuted for their crimes after 1990.
Tha STASI managed to "hire" one half of the GDR population in order to spy the other half.
