Eyewitness Videos • Stasi Legacy

Sequence 1: Rabe

Pastor Rabe talks about two kinds of censorship. What are they (describe in detail)? What does he say Germans have learned today through the opening of the Stasi files? What does he say was “almost impossible” in the GDR?

Sequence 2: Herr Klam

What does Herr Klam say was normal procedure after the Wende with regard to “all active school directors”? In what cases does he say state security personnel (die Staatssicherheit, also known as the “Stasi”) would meet with school directors? What reason does Herr Klam give for his dismissal as a school director? What did he do in response and what resulted from his actions?

Sequence 3: Yvonne

Yvonne speaks of Herr Klam's dismissal as principal of her school.

Sequence 4: Nordhof

When, and why, did the Stasi begin to take an interest in Herr Nordhof? What did they do to him? What "select group" does he say he became a part of as a result of the Stasi's investigations? What does he say was later "reassuring" to him?