Mass surveillance in East Germany

Mass surveillance in East Germany was a widespread practice throughout the country's history, involving Soviet, East German, and Western agencies.

East Germany, known formally as the "German Democratic Republic" or the "Deutsche Demokratische Republik", was an Eastern Bloc state from 1949 to 1990. Its territory consisted of the region of Germany that had been controlled by Soviet forces at the end of World War II.

Penalties for unapproved political contacts were most severe. Though initially those sent to the NKVD special camps in Germany 1945–49 were largely interned members of the Nazi Party or the juvenile Werwolf, sentenced inmates came to include many supporters of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), which became the focus of Soviet authorities in 1946. When the Social Democratic Party was merged into the Communist Party of Germany (KPD), renamed Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED), Social Democrats were interned to ensure Stalinist dominance in the party. Also, people were interned as "spies" for suspected opposition to the authoritarian regime, e.g. for contacts to organizations based in the Western occupation zones, on the basis of Article 58 of the Soviet penal code dealing with "anti-Soviet activities".

Of 123,000 Germans and 35,000 others held in the NKVD special camps, 43,000 perished. Of the 10,000 youths and children interned, half did not return.

In 1947, the Soviet Military Administration in Germany (SMAD) issued Order No. 201, which established a fifth organization of Eastern German police, called Kommissariat 5 (K-5). The mission of K-5 was primarily to conduct surveillance of individuals in East Germany, especially those in East German governing bodies. While nominally controlled by the young East German government, in practice, K-5 operated as a sub-unit of the Soviet KGB. Most of K-5's cases came from the KGB, and KGB officers were present through the organization. KGB officers were involved in day-to-day K-5 operations like training and interrogations.

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