History – What is the background of the secret project “Object X”?

Only a small, selected group of initiates was fully informed about the extensive import business with the tarn name “Object X”. This was the procurement of a large package of state-of-the-art cutting-edge technology for the Stasi. The procured goods included equipment for the production of printed circuit boards, the latest gravure printing technology and accessories for the graphicprocessing. The central element of the top secret procurement campaign launched in February 1989 was a high-precision printing machine. The technology for PCB production is said to have been supplied by the Swiss company Fela. The order and the processing of the state-of-the-art printing machine was carried out by the company Intrac S.A., with which the Stasi intended toto copy allegedly forgery-proof identity card of the Federal Republic of Germany. The delivery of the printing machine, which was probably purchased from a Swiss manufacturer for 850,000 francs, actually took place. However, their use in the production of counterfeit FRG passports or ID cards was prevented by the political changes and the turnaround.

Other explosive procurement projects and operational activities

However, the “Object X” was not the only explosive procurement project in which the company Intrac was involved. Ottokar Hermann is said to have been involved in another project in 1981, which aimed at procuring a human centrifuge and a vacuum chamber for the training of fighter pilots. This project was known as “Project Adler”. At the intracIf, “extremely careful” was taken care not to violate the embargo regulations, a Stasi collaborator assured during a hearing by the Swiss Federal Police in September 1981. It should be absolutely legal transactions that were processed with the state foreign trade companies in the GDR via Intrac S. A.

Shadow World of Intelligence and Embargo Bypass

However, the information collected by the intelligence services paint a different picture. The Federal Intelligence Service (BND) was convinced that the controlled companies – in addition to their official work in GDR trade – had also taken on operational intelligence tasks. In particular, it was about the procurement of electronic goods that were under embargo:Computers, production systems for integrated circuits and measuring devices are said to have been procured in Switzerland or delivered to the GDR via Switzerland or domestic German trade. The recipient of these deliveries was the foreign trade company (AHB) electrical engineering.

Close cooperation between Intrac and the GDR foreign trade

The cooperation between Intrac S.A. and the AHB Elektrotechnik was indeed close. The general director of the AHB Elektrotechnik stayed in Ticino several times in the early 1980s, according to the entry request for business negotiations on electrical equipment. A Stasi-IM was reported, which included the most important embargo imports in the field of electrical engineeringhad settled. This cooperation is said to have been initiated personally by Alexander Schalck-Golodkowski. In 1983, trade between Intrac S.A. and AHB Elektrotechnik reached a volume of about 30 million DM.

The role of Winckler alias in “Peter Schumann” and the importance of bribery

According to information from the double agent Horst Schuster, who has come to the West, Winckler, alias in “Peter Schumann”, belonged to the so-called AHB Secret Association, which is said to have had a significant influence on the entire foreign trade policy of the GDR with regard to large-scale projects. This aroused the interest of the BND, who tried to recruit the Stasi man during a stay in Lugano in August 1983. RolandWinckler was also involved in so-called reparations payments. When the Stasi gained knowledge of bribery or other criminal acts from Western business partners, they were often put under pressure to pay large sums to avoid prosecution. In the event of non-payment, the termination of business relationships and the publication of the compromisingknowledge threatened. Such bribery payments were a significant source of foreign exchange revenue for the Stasi.

Commitment to international companies and hidden businesses

Intrac S. A. maintained contacts with a number of Swiss and foreign companies that produced or traded sensitive goods. These companies included Kudelski, BBC and Balzers. Intrac S. A. even took over the sole representation in the GDR for the American electronics company Tektronix. At a meeting in East Berlin in January 1989, a Tektronix managerinsisted on handling electronic devices to the GDR via Switzerland or Austria. Obviously, he saw it as the only way to deliver the embargogut unhindered. According to the German Office for the Protection of the Constitution, the GDR and Hungary had already tried to procure high-tech articles from Tektronix via Switzerland in 1986. The GDR related from thatAmerican company mainly measurement technology.

Counter-deals and extensive goods trade

A significant part of Intrac S. A.’s business activities probably consisted of so-called counter-trade, which were then common in East-West trade at the time. In such compensation transactions, the West exporter, i.e. the Intrac S.A., undertook to import goods from East Germany. The GDR, for example, continued to watch and clockwork from East German via the Ticino companyproduction in the west. The impression is created that almost everything was traded: cement, reinforcing steel, tapes, petroleum stoves, chemicals, batteries, watches, tools, rowing equipment, travel bags, cosmetics, sewing utensils, stationery, medical devices and cameras. All these goods were mostly delivered to the Koco company Forum. The apparently harmless deliveries of goods served inin some cases probably also to camouflage “hot goods”. Since Intrac delivered household goods such as cosmetics in very small quantities, it is reasonable to assume that coveted consumer goods from the West had been ordered individually for certain party and economic officials or their relatives.

Conspiracy, Discretion and Risks

Although the majority of the businesses probably did not violate Swiss export regulations, the company and its employees’ conspiracy actions are striking. discretion was capitalized; Any public was avoided. The warning of a German business partner about a possible customs search in Lugano in 1979 caused a stir. German authorities hadof detectors imported from the USA and stored in a Zurich customs warehouse. They then carried out a search at a German partner company. The result may have been rather sobering, but it shows how sensitive and risky the activities were.