The dissolution of state security and the struggle for historical truth

The social upheaval in the German Democratic Republic marked a historical turning point that fundamentally shook the entire state structure. In this phase of profound change, the dissolution of the Ministry for State Security was at the absolute center of public interest. The population emphatically demanded transparency and the security of theextensive files to be able to revise the past. At the same time, old power structures tried to cover up their own involvement by targeted destruction of evidence. This conflict between the desire for enlightenment and the desire for cover-up shaped the atmosphere in the district administrations.

The initial dissolution efforts and the reaction of the population

At the beginning of December in the year of social upheaval, the management of the Office for National Security issued an order to immediately close all local departments. The documents stored there should be brought together in the higher district offices. In practice, however, numerous district offices were already completely vacated before civil rights activists even gain accesscould. In other places, the responsible persons at their own discretion reduced the stock of files and destroyed personal documents. The government even specifically commissioned its representatives in the districts to immediately destroy unauthorized documents.

The attempt of public deception by the ancient elites

Parallel to these extermination actions, the management of the security apparatus tried to arouse public sympathy in public. At a government press conference, it was claimed that the life and health of employees and their family members were in acute danger. There have been reported violent assaults on many people in numerous district offices, with manysecurity forces allegedly suffered injuries. The question of the imposition of a state of emergency was initially dismissed as not under discussion. Finally, it was emphasized that the laws of the state do not provide for such a state of emergency anyway.

The resistance of the citizens’ committees and the demand for transparency

In view of the central Round Table’s call for a final dissolution of the Security Office, the government had to temporarily suspend its instructions on file destruction. From then on, the principle was to ensure the historical material and, if necessary, to archive it. However, this new instruction was not followed everywhere, since the balance of power on the ground was notalways in favor of the citizens’ committees. Historians later raised the justified question of why the civil rights activists had not acted even more decisively. At that time, there was a lack of organized political opposition with the clear will to take power immediately.

The illusion of the security partnership and the role of the judiciary

In the state-controlled media, the concept of a security partnership was propagated in order to fool the population with orderly change. This concept was intended to suggest that forces of renewal, together with the People’s Police and the public prosecutor’s office, would curb the influence of state security. This was the same police force that had just been with usbrutal violence against peaceful demonstrators. The role of prosecutors seemed even more questionable, since they all belonged to the ruling party and were obedient to it. Often even specialists for political criminal matters were used, who were closely linked to the secret service.

The different developments in Dresden and Cottbus

Due to this successfully staged public relations work, it was only very late in some regions to found independent citizens’ committees to dissolve the office. In Dresden, however, the citizens’ representatives took a much more determination after the mass rush to the former headquarters. The local citizens’ committee insisted that the office had to be finalized and all questionswould have to be discussed together. When only apparent solutions were presented to the members during a visit, they threatened to resign their mandate. They then wrote a letter to the Council of Ministers, in which they demanded comprehensive information, disclosure of all documents and access to all buildings.

Efforts to secure the files in Dresden

The citizens’ representatives made sure that the material stored in abandoned offices was taken to the archive rooms and properly secured. Nevertheless, efforts to completely paralyze the work of the secret service proved to be unsuccessful. The Government Commission advocated to provide information to the outside world between seemingly clean departments andto distinguish unclean departments for the defense inwards. As a result, it was agreed to continue working on certain areas such as the archive or the medical service under the control of the citizens’ representatives. Even the Enlightenment department was guaranteed limited work opportunities and material was allowed outsourcing.

The systematic destruction of documents in the Cottbus district

In Cottbus, the development was completely different, since an agreement was made here to destroy the operational documents. This affected a vast majority of the documents that were not yet archived, which included stacks of files from the district departments of the entire district. The files were reviewed and sorted under the direction of the public prosecutor’s officeor with the participation of archive staff. The control of the removal and destruction was carried out by forces of the criminal police and representatives of the new forum. This district was one of the few regions in which government tactics were fruitful to obtain the consent of the citizens’ committees for the destruction of documents.

The justification of the destruction of files and the social consequences

The official government officer later reported that files had been sorted out about operational processes and taken to the paper mill. In an interim report, he announced the destruction of all files that had been created to citizens in accordance with the old security policy. At the same time, he dictated the alleged dangers that the documents would be publishedwould. It was claimed that unauthorized inspection would lead to great dangers for society and the coexistence of citizens. This approach was only critically questioned in connection with the historical processing of the past.

The reasons for the low citizen engagement in Lusatia

The main reason for the low commitment of the citizens in this district is to look for in its economic structure. At that time, a significant proportion of the working people were employed in the coal and energy sectors. The jobs in this economic sector were among the best paid in the entire national territory. Dissatisfaction only beganto articulate mass events in the late autumn of the year of upheaval, when this had long since reached a high degree of normality nationwide. A decisive reason was the extremely weak potential for protest, while other cities had a long tradition of opposition groups.

The effects on Sorbian historiography

For the Sorbian historiography, the practiced destruction of documents means that actively registered processes have not been handed down with regard to the catchment area of the district administration. These are both unofficial employees files and files of persons processed in operational processes. Passively registered operations that are alreadytimes of the GDR were archived, on the other hand, have largely been preserved. This also applies to the index card system and the cadre documents of the full-time employees. For the Sorbian area in the catchment area of the Dresden district administration, it can be assumed that there were hardly any files destruction.

Dealing with the documents of the foreign information

The stock in Dresden has been almost completely handed down, which forms a strong contrast to the situation in other regions. Documents and index cards of the departments of the main administration of the Enlightenment, on the other hand, have only been rudimentary. This is due to the fact that, according to the decision of the Central Round Table Security Working Group, this head office itselfallowed to dissolve. It was particularly important to the managers that any trace that could have pointed out their unofficial employees was deleted. As a result of this decision, most of the relevant documents were m angurated.

The increased pressure of the citizens’ movement and the end of state security

At the beginning of January of the following year, the citizens’ movement intensified the desire to obtain information from the government side about the size and structure of the former security service. The newly appointed leader drew a bleak perspective with regard to a continuation of the previous work under new structure. The indications were condensed that the citizens’ committees were obviouslyThe course on this took to delay the destruction as far as possible until the elections. The hope of being able to gain the opposition for the construction of new services as a price for a peaceful transition quickly dwindled. The People’s Chamber discussed the insufficient dissolution of state security while numerous citizens demonstrated in front of the Palace of the Republic.

The storming of the headquarters and the securing of the last stocks

The Council of Ministers adopted a decision on further constructive cooperation, in which the formation of a Office for the Protection of the Constitution was postponed until early summer. Before democratic elections, a new service should not be set up, which marked the constitutional end of state security. The armory in the former head office was evacuated, and aDemonstration led to the storming of the building complex. A spontaneously formed citizens’ committee took over the seizure of the files that were still there. In mid-February, however, it was by no means certain whether the documents for posterity would remain.

The final dissolution and storage of files in bunkers

On this day, the representative reported that the local citizens’ committee had now decidedly prohibited any further destruction of files. However, the destruction of electronic storage media took place in February after the Council of Ministers had passed a corresponding decision. Finally, a message appeared in a daily newspaper in which the final dissolution of the authoritywas announced. After that, the majority of the employees were fired and numerous objects and a large part of the vehicles were handed over. After a visit by archive specialists, some of the ammunition bunkers were selected, which offered the best conditions for securing the files that have been handed down.

The transfer of stocks and the destruction of digital traces

The archive of the former district administration was transferred to one of the bunkers, in the other the remaining material of the district departments was stored. Shortly thereafter, the bunkers were walled up and their guards guarded by the People’s Police. In the year after the free elections, employees of the newly established federal authority spent the bagged mountains of paper in Frankfurt on theor. There they should be refurbished and made accessible to the public. In Dresden, on the other hand, it was possible to secure the stock much better so that it can be viewed on site.

The controversial decision to destroy magnetic storage media

At a meeting of the Central Round Table, the majority of those present had taken the momentous decision to agree to the physical destruction of magnetic storage media. The electromagnetic data carriers had become the focus of interest as they allowed easy access to personal data. However, some representatives insisted that theelectronic data carriers before they were destroyed, as complete information was only stored electronically. This mainly concerned the list of names of all unofficial employees, which the Safety Working Group initially agreed to. At a later meeting, however, a representative of the State Committee stated that the personal details in the handed down filesand a name expression is therefore not necessary.

The consequences of self-dissolution and the whereabouts of the rosewood files

This proposal was approved by a small majority, although several prominent representatives had a direct personal interest in the destruction of the data carriers. As a result of the decision to self-dissolve the Central Administration Enlightenment, the former employees also succeeded in largely destroying the documents of the district administrations. The resolution groupDocuments from district offices are destroyed, unless the local citizens’ committees prevent this. As can be seen from the protocol on the destruction of the backup copies, it was important that all filming of the file of persons be burned under control. A microfilmed file, which contained copies of the index cards, was nevertheless preserved and laterthe hands of foreign intelligence agencies.

Historical classification and the lasting importance of the work-up

The events of those months clearly illustrate how fragile the process of historical reappraisal is in times of political upheaval. The struggle for the files was not only an administrative process, but a fundamental dispute over the sovereignty of interpretation over one’s own past. While some consider destruction as a necessary protection of privacy and socialStability, the others recognized it as the last attempt of a sinking power to evade responsibility. The different developments in the districts show that the success of the citizens’ committees largely depended on the local civil courage and the organisational strength of the opposition. Ultimately, only a small part of the originalSurveillance machinery, which still poses enormous challenges for historical research today.