East German
"Ministerium für Staatssicherheit" aka STASI
It was most effective security apparatus
like wiretapping the
ENTIRE telephone system of DGR
Inspecting the
Entire posting that came from West Germany.
It's
Main Directorate for Reconnaissance pull operations off like Bond Movie
They were Best informed about West Germany and NATO activity, they had even spies in USA like Pentagon or Capitol Hill.
They had 174,000
inoffizielle Mitarbeiter (IMs) informants recruited under Opposition by Force, either they enter STASI prison and die there or betray there Love once.
For every 6 east germans were one IMs, in contrast the Gestapo and SS had only one informant vor every 2000 germans.
The Madness went even so far that from ALL opponents a "Smell sample" were collected, so they could use bloodhounds to track them down.
Also on order of Politburo the STASI even stole valuable Artwork from Private homes, churches and museums to sell then on black market to get needed foreign currencies !
"
Zersetzung"
This STASI at it darkest, the psychological and psychical destruction of opponents.
So-called "operational procedures" to 10,000 individuals are estimated to have become victims wer of 5,000 of whom sustained irreversible damage.
they start slowly to destroy the lives of there victims, by manipulation by induce
personal crises in victims and drive them insane
and if that not worked killing them and let looking that like a suicide
There a good Movies who portray the Work of STASI
The Lives of Others
For Eyes Only (Streng geheim)
(based on true story how Statis got the DECO II, MC 96 and MID files and brought then to DGR)