The former Stasi headquarters

Beginning in December 1989, demonstrators occupied the offices of the secret police across East Germany. On 15 January 1990, thousands of people forced their way into the Berlin headquarters of the Stasi. The SED’s most important instrument of power was finally wrested from its grasp. Citizen committees tried to control the dissolution of the secret service and prevent the destruction of its records. While the Stasi’s days were now numbered, the debate over how their records would be managed had only just begun. When, during negotiations on German Reunification, fears arose that the files might remain closed, another occupation was held. In September 1990, civil rights activists forced their way into the administrative wing of the Stasi archives and began a hunger strike. Their goal was to secure access to the files for those affected – and they succeeded. Adopted in December 1991, the Stasi Records Act grants citizens the right to view files containing information about them, and regulates the political, historical and legal investigation of the activities of the secret police. Covering four million East German and two million West German citizens, the Stasi’s records provide a unique opportunity to look behind the scenes of the system, albeit only in hindsight.