Unofficial collaborator

355:), people ready to be helpful to them. In business and workplaces, state institutions and social organisations, the Stasi worked with "official" partners. Usually these were people in key positions, which normally meant leadership positions. Most frequently these were in workplaces, where security issues, mostly personnel issues could be clarified. These "official" partners were expected not merely to provide information, but also to accept advice from them, and to respect instructions to replace personnel. These contacts could not be considered "unofficial" but they mostly operated in an informal manner. Conversations with "official" Stasi partners could fatefully affect peoples' lives, leading to career difficulties or travel restrictions. The Stasi preferred "official" partners to be members of the 837:) from a role as an IM need have no fear of serious consequences for his life, and could in this way safely cut himself off from communication with the Stasi. This is untrue. Furthermore, even people who declared unequivocally that they were not available for spying activities could nevertheless, over the years, find themselves exposed to high-pressure "recruitment" tactics. It was not uncommon for an IM trying to break out of a collaborative relationship with the Stasi to find his employment opportunities destroyed. The Stasi would often identify refusal to collaborate, using another jargon term, as "enemy-negative conduct" ( 338:/ AKPs), for information on neighbours. These were informants who in most circumstances would not themselves have been listed as IMs, and whose information gathering would mostly have been controlled by senior Stasi officers. They would have sought to conceal the true basis for their "curiosity", as representing, for instance, the local council, the military or the tax office in order to get their target-interlocutors talking. Details of these AKPs, including the extent of their willingness to talk, were documented in the Stasi files. Sample-based analysis of these Stasi records in 318:) was not always precisely defined, and that very careful investigation is needed in order to prove any individual case on order that the individual responsibility, or where appropriate the guilt, of any one person may be determined. The importance of treating each case individually is as important in serving the public just as for research purposes. Some have nevertheless claimed that there are essential differences between the two. The debate about numbers and the ensuing clarifications provided by the 864: 158: 232:, questioned this figure in 2013, but without providing any similarly careful estimate of his own as to the number of IMs in 1988/89. There is a suggestion that Müller-Enbergs' higher figure includes people who operated under more than one cover name and in more than one IM category, leading to some double counting in his revised figure. Another consideration is that the 1198:"Streit um Stasi-Forschung Der IM, der keiner war: Wer ist als Inoffizieller Mitarbeiter der Stasi zu bewerten - und wer nicht? Das jüngst erschienene Buch des Historikers Ilko-Sascha Kowalczuk "Stasi konkret" hat eine heftige Kontroverse ausgelöst . Unser Autor, wie Kowalczuk bei der Stasiunterlagenbehörde beschäftigt, setzt sich kritisch mit dessen Thesen auseinander" 1852:"Haben Ex-Stasi-Spitzel ein Recht auf Vergessen? Einst war er der wohl teuerste Stasi-Spitzel in Erfurt. Als IM "Schubert" lieferte Herbert Gräser etwa Informationen gegen die Verteiler von Flugblättern. Heute mag er nicht mehr öffentlich an seine Taten erinnert werden. Deshalb verklagt er einen Ex-Bürgerrechtler, der im Internet auf Gräsers Vergangenheit hinweist" 209:, before climbing steeply through the early 1970s to peak at a little above 200,000 during the mid-1970s. The gentle decline in the overall number of the Informal collaborators for several years in the later 1970s is associated with new guidelines, intended to increase their professionalism. By the end of 1988 the number had declined to 173,081. 759:/ VL-IM or V-IM ). In this situation a centrally administered IM preliminary programme was followed. Provided the probationary phase was successfully completed, the candidate made a declaration of agreement and became a regular Informal Collaborator (IM). Otherwise the application was cancelled and, under most circumstances, simply archived. 826:

passing on only positive information about them, while others thought that provided they reported nothing suspicious or otherwise punishable, then no harm would be done by providing the Stasi with reports. These failed to accept that the Stasi could use apparently innocuous information to support their covert operations and interrogations.

1171:"Neue Studie zu DDR-Spitzeln: Die schlanke Stasi: War der Überwachungsapparat der DDR kleiner als angenommen? Eine neue Studie stellt die hohe Zahl von Spitzeln in Frage - diese habe auf teils abenteuerlichen Rechnungen basiert. Auch das Bild des Stasi-Offiziers wird relativiert: Die Überwacher wurden selbst genauestens beobachtet" 639:, special rooms or objects, were known as IMK/KWs or IMK/KOs. Those providing the Stasi with undercover addresses or undercover telephones were known as IMK/DAs or IMK/DTs IMs providing logistical services on behalf of other East German security organisations are identified in the files with the initials IMK/S. In 1989 the 1273:) (Berichte und Studien 54), Göttingen 2007; Müller-Enbergs, Helmut. Über Ja-Sager und Nein-Sager. In: Hecht, Marco; Praschl, Gerald: Ich habe Nein gesagt. Zivilcourage in der DDR. Berlin 2002, S. 147-166. Ders. Warum wird einer IM? Zur Motivation bei der inoffiziellen Zusammenarbeit mit dem Staatssicherheitsdienst. 851:"a systematic degradation of reputation, image, and prestige in a database on one part true, verifiable and degrading, and on the other part false, plausible, irrefutable, and always degrading; a systematic organization of social and professional failures for demolishing the self-confidence of the individual...". 697:). By the end there were about 33,300 GMSs. Although the GMs partly worked like other classes of IM, the Stasi records did not classify them with the other IMs: GMS operations were conducted according to a separate set of guidelines. Because of this, in disputes over the numbers of IMs, the historian 609:, and they were used for surveillance and investigations in key locations. At universities and academies, for example, they could monitor trends in research and development, and highlight administrative shortcomings. Before 1968 they were known as "Secret Collaborators in specialist operations" (GMEs / 464:

Under the generalised term Informal Collaborator (IM) information gathering was also undertaken by people who were not listed as IMs. As an example, that could involve people who simply lived or worked as neighbours of objects deemed relevant to national safety. Additionally, people identified by the

559:

were particularly interested in opposition groups and church officials, and were keen to recruit, as IMBs, any East German citizens who had relationships with such people in countries outside the Eastern Bloc. The Stasi also favoured, as IMBs, people who had kinship connections to employees of state

800:

has been a succession of legal actions undertaken against authors in order to try to prevent the naming of former IMs. The courts have sometimes responded with mutually contradictory judgements. A new development came in 2010 with the attempt, initially successful, but which was rejected on appeal,

829:

A further problem in any moral evaluation is presented by the extent to which information from informal collaborators was also used for combating non-political criminality. Moral judgements on collaboration involving criminal police who belonged to the Stasi need to be considered on a case by case

662:

IMSs were people engaged in security-related areas (such as businesses, social institutions, research and training facilities or governmental institutions) who routinely or regularly reported on other peoples' behaviour. The idea was to identify and prevent suspicious actions as early as possible,

253:

Kowalczuks own figures, appearing in his book "Stasi konkret" (2013), have not gone unchallenged, with criticisms that his conclusions are empirically unconvincing, that his logic contains grave errors, and that his statistical approach is flawed. Assertions by Kowalczuk in the press appearing to

778:

employees. However, at the same time large numbers of unrecognized Informal Collaborators were also recruited. This was possible because the vetting of people recruited to the BStU for evidence of previous Stasi collaboration was extremely lax – far more so than in respect of people recruited to

825:

was the better Germany and that it must be defended from the assaults of its enemies. Others were to a lesser or greater extent themselves victims of state persecution and had been broken or blackmailed into collaboration. Many informants believed that they could protect friends or relations by

719:

Reliable IMs with leadership qualities and "operational experience" could, on behalf of the Stasi - under the leadership and direction of a Stasi operational officer" lead and instruct at most between three and five IMs or GMSs. Their mandate and terms often enabled them to operate with a large

181:

officer could never have gained more direct access. There were IMs in many dissident groups and organisations, notably in artistic and church circles, so that the state was informed in particular detail about individuals defined in the official Stasi jargon as "enemy-negative persons"

1321:"Erich Mielke und sein geheimes Dossier Die brisanten Akten über die Spitzengenossen: Stasi-Chef Erich Mielke hat einst ein umfangreiches geheimes Dossier über die Spitzengenossen von SED und Regierung anlegen lassen. Ein neues Buch enthüllt erstmals Details zur Ablage "Rote Nelke"" 736:) who appeared to be working in positions of responsibility, but without any formally defined work or military contractual relationship, who performed duties on behalf of, and who were paid by, the Stasi. After 1986 these people are listed with the other Stasi employees. 141:

archives were opened up: the identities of numerous IMs came to light, which opened the way for several human tragedies. At the same time many friendships, partnerships and marriages broke apart after previously concealed spying activities became known to both parties.

454:

and the ensuing opening up of the Stasi records, this often led to the terminations of friendships and marriages. Some of the IMs did what they did out of political conviction: others acted in return for favours or because they were put under pressure.

754:

An individual keen to become an informal collaborator was entered into a preliminary process, and who had started to undertake information gathering conversations, but had not yet been recruited, was listed in the Stasi files as a "probationary IM"

1290:"Die Stasi hatte viel mehr Informanten als bekannt: Seit den 1990er-Jahren heißt es, jeder 85. DDR-Bürger habe der Staatssicherheit Erkenntnisse geliefert. Eine neue Studie kommt zu einer gänzlich anderen Zahl. Jeder 16. galt als "Auskunftsperson"" 441:

The 25–40 age group was particularly well represented (between 30 and 40% of IMs fell within this age range as compared with only 24% in the population as a whole), with the under-25s and those of pensionable age correspondingly under represented.

1144:"Mehr Stasi-Spitzel als angenommen ...In der DDR wurde offenbar noch mehr geschnüffelt und verraten als bisher angenommen: Die Zahl der Inoffiziellen Mitarbeiter bei der Stasi muss einer Studie zufolge nach oben korrigiert werden" 346:

shows that approximately 18% and 5.9% of the populations, respectively, were assessed as AKPs who were, for the most part, ready to talk. That means that in these places the IMs were outnumbered many times over by these AKPs. In

236:

data include many people who never actually reported anything to them. The Stasi themselves archived the records of nearly 10,000 inactive IMs in 1987. In 1988 the Stasi were using, internally, the much lower figure of 110,000.

643:

was working with approximately 30,500 IMKs. In most cases these were people who themselves passed on only small amounts of information to the Stasi but who were valued and trusted because of their importance in the context of

693:. They were used for information retrieval, and might be able, behind the scenes, to ease the workload of other classes of IM. By and large they did not participate directly in operations involving "enemy-negative persons" ( 578:

The category of Informal Collaborators classed as IMBs came about from the merger, in 1980, of two other categories, the IMFs and the IMVs Before 1968 they were known, more simply, as "Secret Collaborators" (GMs /

95:

The network of secret informers, commonly known in German sources by the initials IM, was one of the most important instruments of repression and also one of the most critical pillars of power supporting the

450:

The information collected by the IMs generally involved reports on the behaviour of people from their domestic or work environments. The IMs frequently spied on close friends and family members. After

508:. IMA "offensive" measures involved contacts with western journalists in order to plant stories in western media. The work involved both one-time actions and long-running projects. By 1989 the 47: 817:

makes any overall moral evaluation of the spying activities extremely difficult. There were those that volunteered willingly and without moral scruples to pass detailed reports to the

2013: 254:

state that the number of IMs was only half that previously accepted are inaccurate because they take no account of the massive broadening of information gathering activity by the

569: 833:

A belief has gained traction that any informal collaborator (IM) who refused the Stasi further collaboration and extracted himself (in the now outdated Stasi jargon of the time

371:

The concentration of Informal collaborators varied considerably, ranging from about one IM for every 80 of the population up to about 160. The greatest concentrations were in

821:

out of selfish motives, from self-regard, or from the urge to exercise power over others. Others collaborated with the Stasi out of a sincerely held sense of duty that the

663:

and to contribute more generally to domestic security in their areas of responsibility. Before 1968 IMSs were generally known simply by the label "Secret informant" (GI /

306:(effectively the "foreign" division of the intelligence service). It is in any event clear, as the BStU has repeatedly pointed out, that the term "Informal collaborator" ( 1320: 2073: 1256: 189:

During its lifetime the Stasi had around 624,000 Informal collaborators. IM numbers rose most steeply at times of societal crises, such as the aftermath of the

1952: 1475: 1422: 1395: 1349:: Die indiskrete Gesellschaft. Studien zum Denunziationskomplex und zu inoffiziellen Mitarbeitern. Frankfurt (Main): Verlag Polizeiwissenschaft 2014, 268 pages, 1076: 1057: 461:

Internally, differentiations between different categories of Informal Collaborators was important. There were big differences between a GMS, an IMB and an IMS.

458:

An informal collaborator provided reports, on an average, for between six and ten years, but in some cases might produce surveillance reports for much longer.

177:. The network provided crucial support to the country's elaborate surveillance system, and it made possible the monitoring of groups to which an identifiable 1780:

Abkürzungsverzeichnis der Behörde der/des Bundesbeauftragten für die Unterlagen des Staatssicherheitsdienstes der ehemaligen Deutschen Demokratischen Republik

287: 888: 575:. Where East Germans with such kinship connections became known to the Stasi, attempts were made, sometimes using untoward pressure, to recruit them as IMBs. 555:

in order to observe or investigate people or objects. For these objectives they were also provided with secret service materials and foreign currency. The

1227: 1083: 893: 790: 771: 319: 263: 473:), were – each according to his/her importance – subject to surveillance by several IMs recruited for the purpose from among their personal contacts. 1779: 1605:

IMV = "Inoffizieller Mitarbeiter, der unmittelbar an der Bearbeitung und Entlarvung im Verdacht der Feindtätigkeit stehender Personen mitarbeitet" (

1669:

Inoffizieller Mitarbeiter der Abwehr mit Feindverbindung bzw. zur unmittelbaren Bearbeitung im Verdacht der Feindtätigkeit stehender Personen (IMB)

1626:

Inoffizieller Mitarbeiter der Abwehr mit Feindverbindung bzw. zur unmittelbaren Bearbeitung im Verdacht der Feindtätigkeit stehender Personen (IMB)

410:, and between 300 and 400 in other western countries. During the entire period of the Stasi's existence it is estimated that approximately 12,000 2062: 2009: 1935: 1454: 1354: 1170: 971: 521:

Inoffizieller Mitarbeiter der Abwehr mit Feindverbindung bzw. zur unmittelbaren Bearbeitung im Verdacht der Feindtätigkeit stehender Personen

1275:

In: Behnke, Klaus; Fuchs, Jürgen (Hg.): Zersetzung der Seele. Psychologie und Psychiatrie im Dienste der Stasi. Hamburg 1995, Pages 102-129.

847:, a term for which no very direct English translation is available, but for one form of which a definition has been provided that begins: 783:

branch stated publicly: "We had agreed that each one should be self-checking". In 1998 it turned out that a former Stasi IM (identified in

689:

GMSs were people active in leading positions in the economy and administration, and were often high-profile supporters of the state and of

398:

The IM network was almost exclusively a domestic operation. Little information survives on IM activities abroad. It is estimated that the

283: 149:, IM and the other terms here have sometimes also been used for informers who worked for Intelligence organisations other than the Stasi. 1289: 485:. In Guideline 1/79, which was in effect between 1980 and 1989, Mielke classified the work of the Informal Collaborators as follows: 2117: 2045: 2030: 1990: 1969: 1231: 1029: 995: 667:). This was the largest of the categories in Informal Collaborator under Mielke's classification system, with 93,600 listed by the 2079: 1197: 330:

There is also evidence that the Stasi had significant numbers of informants in addition to the IMs. In the residential areas the

1851: 690: 435: 360: 190: 165:

to peak in 1962 at 108,400, before falling back for a few years. The all-time peak, of 203,000, was reached in 1977. By the time

162: 80:. At the end of the East German government, there was a network of around 189,000 informants, working at every level of society. 635:

for various logistical assignments. There were different types of IMK, depending on the nature of their tasks. Those who set up

519:

Unofficial collaborator with enemy-connections and for the immediate processing of persons suspected of hostile activity (IMB /

1547: 924: 1436:: Der lange Weg nach Westen. Vol 2: Deutsche Geschichte vom Dritten Reich bis zur Wiedervereinigung. München 2000, page 324. 1112: 725: 671:

in 1989. Other sources indicate that during the 1980s the proportion of IMs in the IMS category was even higher, at 85%.

601:

IMEs were Informal Collaborators used by the Stasi for specialist missions. They were people with unusual skills, such as

403: 303: 434:

IMs were predominantly male (83% in East Germany and 73% in West Germany). Most were members of the ruling East German

418:

Germans whom the Stasi mandated to relocate to the west. The majority of these IMs were nevertheless people born in

1269:

Weill, Francesca. Zielgruppe Ärzteschaft. Ärzte als inoffizielle Mitarbeiter des Ministeriums für Staatssicherheit (

878: 822: 797: 423: 259: 69: 205:

between the two Germanys associated with the time in office, first as Foreign Minister and then as Chancellor, of

1077:"Die inoffiziellen Mitarbeiter (MfS-Handbuch): Anatomie der Staatssicherheit - Geschichte, Struktur und Methoden" 266:

in effect later distanced themselves from his figures, and an (in other respects unimportant) application by the

2090: 1882: 565: 40: 1940: 1664: 1621: 1568: 1548:"Mielke, Erich *28.12.1907, † 21.5.2000 Minister für Staatssicherheit; Mitglied des Politbüros des ZK der SED" 1467: 1410: 1383: 1346: 1072: 1045: 651:

Unofficial collaborator for Political-operative Penetration and for Protection of Responsibility areas (IMS /

279: 262:, and left almost every second citizen thinking himself a surveillance victim. Kowalczuk's employers at the 213: 1847: 1433: 1147: 883: 572: 1607:"Informal Collaborator with direct involvement in the processing and exposure of suspected enemy activists" 903: 732:. There were also around 3,500 professional people in a group described as High-level IM leaders (HFIM / 539: 653:

Inoffizieller Mitarbeiter zur politisch-operativen Durchdringung und Sicherung des Verantwortungsbereiches

1143: 1010:(PDF; 113 kB), Antwort der Bundesregierung auf die Kleine Anfrage der FDP-Fraktion, 29. Januar 2008. 2038:

Zielgruppe Ärzteschaft. Ärzte als inoffizielle Mitarbeiter des Ministeriums für Staatssicherheit der DDR

1923: 1648: 1271:

Targeting the medical profession. Doctors as informal collaborators with the Ministry for State Security

959: 698: 238: 229: 1236:

ARD (Arbeitsgemeinschaft der öffentlich-rechtlichen Rundfunkanstalten der Bundesrepublik Deutschland )

134: 17: 201:, in August 1961). They fell back a little in the mid-1960s for the initial phase of the period of 1285: 869: 1982:

Anleitung für die Arbeit mit Agenten, Kundschaftern und Spionen in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland.

1592:

IMF = "Inoffizieller Mitarbeiter der inneren Abwehr mit Feindverbindungen zum Operationsgebiet" (

267: 173:

The Stasi network of Informal Collaborators (IMs) covered all sections of the population in the

2041: 2026: 2005: 1986: 1965: 1931: 1450: 1350: 1250: 1235: 1223: 1025: 991: 967: 545: 1594:"Informal Collaborator of homeland defense with enemy connections to the Operations region " 123:

regime, and, in particular, to avoid association with the older term used for an informant,

983: 97: 1799: 1745: 1676: 1633: 1580: 620:

Unofficial collaborator for Protection from Conspiracies and Subversive groupings (IMK /

363:, and they were the people who exercised the real power in the East German dictatorship. 1716:

Inoffizieller Mitarbeiter zur Sicherung der Konspiration und des Verbindungswesens (IMK)

720:

measure of independence. Until 1968 they were designated Senior Secret Informers (GHI /

169:

collapsed the "IM headcount" number had stabilised at, on these figures, around 175,000.

2112: 1769:"im Auftrag des MfS … unter Anleitung und Kontrolle eines operativen Mitarbeiters ... " 388: 290:). The BStU believes that between 3,000 and 3,500 of these Stasi IMs were operating in 2106: 2048:. (=Hannah-Arendt-Institut für Totalitarismusforschung: Berichte und Studien, Nr. 54) 1821: 1022:

Material Fantasies: Expectations of the Western Consumer World Among the East Germans

606: 322:

have in the end provided some reassurance about the soundness of the 189,000 figure.

2018: 1543: 1366: 1324: 1201: 729: 561: 552: 505: 482: 419: 407: 356: 291: 242: 206: 174: 166: 161:

The number of Informal Collaborators (IMs) rose steeply in the years following the

120: 101: 622:

Inoffizieller Mitarbeiter zur Sicherung der Konspiration und des Verbindungswesens

216:, published in 2010, put the number of Informal Collaborators in 1989 at 189,000. 157: 1976: 1007: 796:

A recurring feature of the analysis of the role of Informal Collaborators in the

544:). They had direct involvement with long-running work on developing the relevant 2095: 2058: 1825: 1796: