What I learned when I visited Stasi archive. 13 January 2018, 16:49 UhrEditiert on 13 January 2018, 16:49 Uhr54 comments

Read Turkish original here. The text has been edited easily for German version.

Vera Lengsfeld was born in 1952 in GDR. Although she was a candidate for admission to Communist Party, at a young age she began to visit church in Berlin and criticize party. She had an affair with a Dane and got a child from him. On display of a Spitzels with alias Donald, she was led to archive of Stasi as "dissident". After fall of Berlin Wall and after opening Stasi archives came to light who was snitch:

Her husband.

Can Dündar

Is editor-in-chief of new Web portal Özgürüz, which he founded in Germany. He writes for time a weekly column about crisis in Turkey.

The index card of Vera and her informant husband today receives her as a dirty testimony of a sinister time at entrance of building, which houses Stasi archives.

When I recently visited this incredible archive, I felt paranoia of regime, as well as fear for which population was concerned, to mark. The party that won at elections 99.5 percent and knew that this "success" was related to created climate of fear, spread feeling of having ir eyes everywhere. She hired an army of spies. Some lured m with promotion, ors with threats: "That wouldn't be good for you." The louder call for freedom became, stronger paranoia of system became, and with expansion of paranoia grew number of snitches.

For 16 million GDR citizens, Stasi employed 91,000 employees, who were supported by 180,000 "helpers", those were informers. A system had been built for fear, silence and obedience. So far it had come that people denounced ir spouses.

This article dates back to time No. 03/2018. Here you can read entire output.

But at some point fear was overcome, as 40-year-old regime was in end. When uprising began at end of 1989, Stasi tried to destroy its archive. Some of documents were torn in panic, but not everything could be eliminated. At storming of Stasi headquarters on January 15, 1990, a large part of archive was ensured. Packed next to each or, 16,000 sacks of documents would result in a 111 kilometre long giant archive. Some wanted to burn everything, but new rulers thought that power created by secrecy had to be exhibited and discussed so that this would never happen again. They ordered archive and made it available to public. In laborious work, torn documents were re-assembled and scripts were created; It was documented how lawyers, doctors, teachers had denounced ir clients, patients, pupils, how people were mapped and letters opened, copied and reopened.

These documents are now exhibited in a "Museum of transparency". I was told re that management of archive is not only in government hands, but also those who ensured archive at storming were represented as NGOs. Stakeholders can view information collected from m, use media and scientists in archive.

When I visited documentation Center, for Germany a piece of history, I went through my mind that this corresponds to darkness that we are currently living through in Turkey. and Drew Hope. Undoubtedly, one day we will also visit building where information about us is collected as a museum of shame in which misdeeds of his former masters are exhibited. Will see what is next to our name due to information of our snitch and amuse us about it. And will teach in that museum that a regime of fear that causes people to spy ir spouses does not exist forever.

From Turkish by Sabine Adatepe

Date Of Update: 14 January 2018, 12:02