The GDR Through the Eyes of the Stasi - Data Mining on the Secret Reports of the State Security Service of the former German Democratic Republic

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christoph Kuras ◽  
Thomas Efer ◽  
Christian Adam ◽  
Gerhard Heyer
Keyword(s):  
Data Mining ◽  
German Democratic Republic ◽  
Democratic Republic ◽  
The State ◽  
State Security ◽  
Security Service

The ambivalence of detail – documenting wiretapped phone conversations by the State Security Service of the former German Democratic Republic

2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 248-263
Author(s):  
Olga Galanova
Keyword(s):  
German Democratic Republic ◽  
Democratic Republic ◽  
Special Focus ◽  
Information Selection ◽  
Record Keeping ◽  
State Security ◽  
Levels Of Detail ◽  
Security Service ◽  
The Everyday ◽  
Objects Of Knowledge

The German Democratic Republic (GDR) State Security Service (Stasi) had to archive vast amounts of data about the everyday lives of GDR citizens. Simplifications and reductions are common features of record-keeping in every institution and there was considerable variation in how detailed the Stasi records of wiretapped phone conversations were. The special focus of this study is the detail that shapes phone records into powerful objects of knowledge among other documentary genres of the Stasi archive. The article describes, in the context of suspicion, how decisions were made about the level of detail in the records given the information overflow, and which communicative and institutional tasks were solved using the different levels of detail in the textualization. Records fulfilled the function of (subjective) information selection for the creation of such categories as ‘strange’, ‘dangerous’, ‘suspicious’ and ‘guilty’. Objectifying practices were necessary to legitimize the records as objective proof of suspicion. The ‘subjective–objective’ relationship turns from a dichotomy to a co-presence within one record and serves to legitimize the record as evidence.

The Principles of State Governance of the German Democratic Republic

2020 ◽  
Vol 1(21) ◽  
pp. 37-51
Author(s):  
Grzegorz Kuźnik
Keyword(s):  
German Democratic Republic ◽  
Democratic Republic ◽  
The State ◽  
State Of Emergency ◽  
State Institutions ◽  
German States ◽  
East German ◽  
State Governance ◽  
Council Of Ministers ◽  
National Defence

The aim of this article is to present the principles underlying the political system in force in the German Democratic Republic between 1949 and 1990, with a particular emphasis on the issue of the state of emergency law. The article describes the two Constitutions from 1949 and 1968 and the state institutions established under them, including the GDR People's Chamber, the Council of Ministers, the GDR State Council and the National Defence Council. It also discusses the constitutional solutions within the scope of the emergency law. The legal basis for the protection of the border between the two then existing German states was also considered. This article is based on the two East German Constitutions, other legal acts and on the principles of East German and Polish doctrine. The article consists of an introduction, three parts and a summary.

scholarly journals Fundamentals of Employees’ Professional Values of the State Security Service of Russia

2011 ◽  
pp. 63-68
Author(s):  
Mikhail A. Burenkov
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Military Personnel ◽  
The State ◽  
Professional Values ◽  
Keen Interest ◽  
Political Processes ◽  
Psychological Mechanisms ◽  
State Security ◽  
Security Service ◽  
Patriotic Education

Presents some editions of the memoirs and journalistic literature of 2000–2010 which describe professional values of military personnel, employees of the State Security Service of Russia and promote the patriotic education of Russian citizens. The books considered by the author may be especially useful for library experts and young people and for all those who take the keen interest in the modern political processes and socially-psychological mechanisms of organizations increasing activity.

scholarly journals Opricznina jako pierwsza rosyjska służba specjalna i jej znaczenie w systemie politycznym

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 11-24
Author(s):  
Justyna Doroszczyk
Keyword(s):  
Political System ◽  
The State ◽  
The Political ◽  
State Security ◽  
Main Thesis ◽  
Security Service ◽  
Ivan The Terrible ◽  
The Stability

Oprichina is the first security service in Russia. The main aim of oprichnina was to protect the stability of the political system and the reign of tsars. The main thesis is based on the conviction that secret services since Ivan the Terrible are one of the most important factors in the Russian political system. The purpose of the article is to analyze the functioning and the role of oprichnina, its organization, its structure and its main tasks in the context of the tendency of centralization of the state. The aim is to demonstrate that the establishment of the oprichnina initiated the process of forming state security organs as the foundation of maintaining power and implementing the priorities of internal and external politics.

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