Interrogation

After seeing the methods of interrogation used in the movie The Lives of Others, I decided to research Stasi interrogation techniques. The methods used had powerful psychological effects and were bery effective.
What I came across greatly resembles the thesis Colonel Grubitz mentioned to to Wiesler. Because physical forms of torture had a stronger negative repercussion on the GDR's image in the West, the Stasi, state security, changed their approach and focused on psychological torture. The Stasi made their prisoners feel isolated. The detainees were weary from having nothing to do all day but pace up and down a lonely cell. Each was given his own cell for him to share with another prisoner. Often, one of these two was one a government spy ordered to report on his cellmate. The Stasi also made their prisoners believe they were keeping an eye on their families and sometimes lied to the prisoners about their family. Sometimes they would lie about their family members committing suicide, sometimes they would say it had been one of their family members who had informed the government about their activities.
Nowadays, some former Stasi prisoners work as guides in their former prison to help them cope with their experiences, which, although they left little to no physical injuries, gave a powerful blow to the prisoners and would last decades later.