The Ministry for State Security - Everyday life at a public authority

Former heads, senior officers and the rector of the MfS law school explain how the ministry functioned. The interviewees see themselves as legitimate actors with a clear mandate and political enemy image. They provide an insight into the techniques and routines of secret service work, psychological tricks during interrogations and the management of “unofficial collaborators”. What they all have in common is that they are not aware of any moral guilt. The directors contrast their footage of prisons and archives with the statements of former Stasi employees in an attempt to expose their evasions and efforts at suppression.

Cast

Kurt Zeiseweis himself

Gerhard Niebling himself

Karli Coburger himself

Gerhard Neiber himself

Horst Männchen himself

Willi Opitz himself

Wolfgang Schmidt himself

Günter Möller himself

Wanja Abramowski himself

Siegfried Rataizick himself

Metadata from the source database.