Otevřená a skrytá přítomnost tajné policie.
The overt and covert presence of the secret police:

On the public presentation and perception of the State Security in everyday life in the GDR

Summary/Abstract: The social effectiveness of mass surveillance and control of East German (GDR) society by the Ministry for State Security (Stasi) was based on what one might call the “Stasi myth”, i.e., the place that public and semi-public “appearances” of the secret, “invisible” police held in the everyday consciousness of GDR citizens. This article discusses different forms of visible presence with regard to the images associated with the work of the Stasi and their intentional or unintentional effects in social life. This includes mentions of the Ministry and its activities in the media, film and literature, public appearances such as parades and the physiognomy of its facilities in their urban environment, as well as personal encounters with secret police officers. An analysis of the party newspaper Neues Deutschland (“New Germany”) shows that it frequently stressed the high socio-political status of the Ministry. However, in contrast to the 1950s with its propaganda for open repression, the newspaper increasingly hid concrete acts of persecution of “enemies”. This public image of the Ministry thereby contributed to the welfare dictatorship model, which promised GDR citizens no threat from the State Security provided that they adhered to apolitical and adapted behaviour.

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