The Stasi had 90,000 full-time employees who were assisted by 170,000 full-time unofficial collaborators (Inoffizielle Mitarbeiter); together these made up 1 in 63 (nearly 2%) of the entire East German population. Together with these, a much larger number of occasional informers brought up the total to 1 per 6.5 persons
And in a lot of cases, the “IMs” were close family members and spouses. The alternative to refusing the job was either saying goodbye to any chances of promotion in their jobs in the best case scenario or being jailed themselves in the worst case. Many also accepted because they knew the Stasi would monitor their loved ones anyway, and this way they could at least control the information that was shared.
I was born in the GDR and while I was a small child when the wall came down, I watched a lot of documentaries and also my parents told me a lot of stories. My mother was also approached by the Stasi but she flat out refused. She didn’t suffer any bad consequences (that she knows of), but she was also already military (as a secretary, not a soldier) while my father was a middle ranking officer.
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And in a lot of cases, the “IMs” were close family members and spouses. The alternative to refusing the job was either saying goodbye to any chances of promotion in their jobs in the best case scenario or being jailed themselves in the worst case. Many also accepted because they knew the Stasi would monitor their loved ones anyway, and this way they could at least control the information that was shared.
I was born in the GDR and while I was a small child when the wall came down, I watched a lot of documentaries and also my parents told me a lot of stories. My mother was also approached by the Stasi but she flat out refused. She didn’t suffer any bad consequences (that she knows of), but she was also already military (as a secretary, not a soldier) while my father was a middle ranking officer.
“I have a pen… I have a paper… I know their address… I’ll report them.”