The collapse of the state security and the struggle for the files in the autumn of 1989

The opening of the inner-German border on the evening of November 9, 1989 marked not only the end of the division of Germany, but also the beginning of the sinking of a powerful instrument of domination: the Ministry for State Security. For his full-time employees, this day meant a deep shock, because with the elimination of travel restrictions, their activity lost theirbasis. From then on, state security was no longer able to fight “anti-socialist elements” as before, since it was no longer direct access to the population. In this new situation, the apparatus was forced to deal with its own existence, above all – a development that quickly led to disintegration.

The resignation of the leadership and the realignment of the secret service

Erich Mielke had already announced his resignation together with the entire government under Willi Stoph on November 7th. After the border was opened, the teaching staff of the Ministry for State Security did not reunite until November 15th. An internal template for the inaugural speech of the new minister Wolfgang Schwanitz stated that the new government was a clear separation ofparty and state are expected. Internally, it was clear that the leading role of the SED no longer existed. At the same time, critical voices began to rain within their own ranks.

The conversion into an office and the loss of legitimacy

In response to this, the management level passed a statement that all employees would have to support the party’s political turnaround. In concrete terms, this meant that the unofficial network should be secured and that the clarification of anti-constitutional activities should become the main task. At the same time, however, numerous traditional responsibilities such as securingEvents, passport control or border protection. On November 17, the People’s Chamber elected Hans Modrow as Prime Minister and renamed the Ministry for State Security to the Office for National Security. But this renaming did not bring any new legitimacy – rather it soon became apparent that the office’s management was completely lagging behind the events and had no strategy.

The isolation of state security and the break with other institutions

The progressive disintegration of the rule of power drove state security into isolation. Other pillars of the regime – the press, justice and people’s police – began to publicly distance themselves from the MfS. As early as mid-November, internal management reports reported that members of the German People’s Police were openly opposed to the MfS and that the previous cooperationrejected. From November 19, the daily police reports lacked any reference to cooperation with the current Office for National Security. At the same time, the People’s Police tried to cover all traces of their close connection to state security in order to cover up their own entanglements.

The Breach of the Constitution and the End of the Power Monopoly

At the same time, the SED’s monopoly on power also disappeared. On December 1st, the People’s Chamber removed the passage on the “leading role of the party” from the constitution – a decisive step that deprived the MfS of its political basis. A few days later, the Central Committee and Politburo resigned closed. The rooms of the Politburo were sealed during the night, and almost all officialslost their offices in the following weeks. At an extraordinary party conference, the SED was finally renamed SED-PDS and Gregor Gysi was elected chairman. The ideological framework within which the state security had operated was thus finally broken.

Strategic differences in the treatment of new citizen movements

During these weeks, there was disagreement within the Office for National Security on how to deal with the newly created civil rights organizations. While the headquarters in Berlin initially recommended a defensive approach, the head of the Dresden district administration, for example, advocated an offensive strategy. He proudly reported that around 100 unofficial employees were already into have injected management positions of the new collection movements. However, given the general dissolution of the system, the line soon prevailed to reset the use of IM and instead prioritize the support of the Modrow government.

The end of the unofficial cooperation and the last meeting

By mid-January 1990, the cooperation with unofficial employees was officially discontinued. Final meetings were only used to clarify whether the people concerned would be willing to cooperate with a successor institution in the future. For example, one in the name “Michael” on December 1st fully declared his willingness to support the new office conspiratorially.Until then, he had dutifully delivered reports about Sorbian students, demonstration participants and cultural events. With his last meeting, however, the written tradition of the observation of Sorbian circles completely tore off.

Public pressure and the resolution to dissolution

Despite all the efforts of the Modrow government to present the office as a necessary instrument of state order, it was perceived in public as a mere continuation of state security. The central round table, which meets for the first time on December 7, therefore called for the immediate dissolution of the office and the civilian integration of its employees. Even the SED representatives at the round tableagreed to this proposal. Gregor Gysi only managed to ensure that the decision contained a vague reference to “necessary security services” – a back door for possible successor structures.

The destruction of the files as a sign of defeat

The management of the MfS had already started to systematically destroy files since the end of October. This step was ambiguous: on the one hand, he admitted the impending defeat, on the other hand he threatened to repay the institution’s collective memory. Because the files not only lay past “work” but also the power basis for future operations. On October 31st, Mielke still hadTried to push the Politburo to repressive measures, but this refused. Instead, Mielke ordered to secure sensitive documents in armored cabinets and to protect particularly endangered objects.

The systematic reduction and targeted deletion of evidence

From the beginning of November, hundreds of departments were instructed to move large parts of their files to the district administrations. In particular, personnel files from unofficial employees, operational processes and telephone monitoring material should be centralized. On November 13, the order was issued to provide all information for party and state officials that was created by October 1sthad been to destroy. The aim was to cover up the close partnership between state security and the SED leadership. Active operational processes have now also been formally completed – for example the “critic” case against the Sorbs Mato Scholze, who was discontinued despite extensive suspicions of suspicion due to a lack of criminal law.

The final stage of destruction and attempt to blur traces

At the end of November, the annihilation continued to intensify. Schwanitz ordered to reduce the records to the absolute minimum. Documents for the so-called preventive complex were particularly affected – i.e. plans to arrest and isolate opponents in the event of a crisis. The foreign enlightenment also began to systematically destroy files and files; By December, two thirds of those werepersonal files destroyed. At the same time, attempts were made to extinguish particularly incriminating materials such as IM files from the church area. But the more extensive the extermination actions became, the more clearly they came into the public awareness.

The citizens’ movement intervenes: Occupations and seals

On December 3rd, the new forum called for the formation of control groups. The next day, civil rights activists occupied several district and district offices of the AFNS. In Dresden, the occupation took place on December 5th, in Cottbus a public prosecutor’s seal was forced under the church’s initiative. In Bautzen, too, a spontaneously formed citizens’ committee responded to reports about nocturnalburns in the special detention center and occupied the local office. These actions aimed to make the practice of the dictatorship public and delegitimize the regime by unveiling its surveillance mechanisms.

The takeover by the People’s Police and the ambivalent role of sealing

On December 12th, the German People’s Police finally took over the building of the former Bautzen district office. Weapons and technology were transported away, the remaining files were taken to the former district administration of Dresden. At the local level, citizens’ committees have now oversaw the MfS’s legacy. But these groups were often weak and partially staffedeven enforced by former unofficial employees. The seals ordered by GDR prosecutors formally served to protect the files, but in reality often to prevent the access of those affected. The downfall of the state security was not a sudden event, but a process of rapid disempowerment, inner turmoil and desperate attempts,at least save parts of the system. The destruction of the files not only revealed the fear of exposure, but also the deep awareness that the SED’s rulership irrevocably came to an end. At the same time, the courageous actions of the citizens’ movement ensured that at least part of the written memory of the dictatorship was preserved – a foundation for laterprocessing and historical justice. The events of that autumn show impressively how quickly a powerful surveillance device can collapse as soon as the trust of the population and the legitimacy of the state are withdrawn from it.