I researched the "real-life" Stasi files, similar to what we saw in The Lives of Others. I remember being in shock at that the amount of files we saw in the movie. It turns out that many of the files were shredded, and are being reassembled by the BStU. They began in 1995, and 13 years later (2008), three dozen archivists hired to reconstruct the documents had only reconstructed 327 bags, out of 16,000. Now using computer-assisted data recovery programs, they are reassembling the remaining 16,000 bags, containing an estimated 45 million pages. The amount of files shown in The Lives of Others now seems far more trivial, compared to the number of files the Stasi actually kept.
I found a ten page article about a man (Frederic L. Pryor) who was able to obtain the files the Stasi had on him, from the new German government. Halfway through, he explained, "My purpose in reading these files was to come to terms with my past, and I had no intention of denouncing anyone who might have supplied damaging materials about me to the Stasi. Nevertheless, I was comforted to find no evidence that would lead me to believe Helga [his significant other] had provided any such information. Moreover, it was also heartening to learn that, with the exception of my cell mate, all of the people whom I knew in East Berlin were quite fair about me. They could well have twisted things to make it easier for themselves; in this respect my experience was quite different from those of others who have found damaging and quite untrue reports about themselves from acquaintances and apparent friends." The overall experience seems similar to Georg Dreyman's in The Lives of Others, however distinctly different is the involvement of their significant others. In Pryor's case, his significant other had not incriminated him- although his cellmate in the Stasi prisons had; while, of course, Christa Maria had incriminated Georg Dreyman. Pryor and Dreyman now had more than suspicions about what the Stasi knew, and received well needed closure by reading the documents the Stasi had kept on them.
SOURCES
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2751/is_n38/ai_16350697/pg_5/?tag=content;col1
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stasi
I can't imagine how bizarre it would be to read a day-to-day account of your own everyday life and to read it that much after the fact. It seems to me that it is only after the wall came down that people understood the danger of their situations.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting that they would destroy all of their files, but it is very understandable. If the new German government had discovered what the Stasi had done then many would be imprisoned or forced to flee. I guess it goes to show that you shouldn't do something unless you're okay with others finding out about it and you shouldn't go against your morals.
ReplyDeleteAdding to Graham's point, the Stasi were most likely protecting some of their own. They probably didn't want the current government to find out their more "controversial" acts. It is similar to the Nazi's attempting to hide the evidence of the Holocaust when the Russians were approaching. What if members of the new German government had some sort of Stasi ties? That is another reason that some of the files were destroyed. Ignorance is bliss.
ReplyDeleteI'm fascinated by the sheer numbers you discovered, Scott, and also by the connection between Pryor and Dreyman. No matter how many times I teach this material, I always learn an enormous amount from the reasearch of those in class. Thanks!
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