And the goal was to destroy secretly the self-confidence of people, for example by damaging their reputation, by organizing failures in their work, and by destroying their personal relationships.
The Stasi didn't try to arrest every dissident. It preferred to paralyze them, and it could do so because it had access to so much personal information and to so many institutions.
The best informants were those whose jobs entailed frequent contact with the public.
Full-time officers were posted to all major industrial plants.
One tenant in every apartment building was designated as a watchdog.
Spies reported every relative or friend who stayed the night at another's apartment.
Tiny holes were drilled in apartment and hotel room walls through which Stasi agents filmed citizens with special video cameras.
Schools, universities, and hospitals were extensively infiltrated as were organizations, such as computer clubs where teenagers exchanged Western video games.
The Stasi didn't try to arrest every dissident. It preferred to paralyze them, and it could do so because it had access to so much personal information and to so many institutions.
The best informants were those whose jobs entailed frequent contact with the public.
Full-time officers were posted to all major industrial plants.
One tenant in every apartment building was designated as a watchdog.
Spies reported every relative or friend who stayed the night at another's apartment.
Tiny holes were drilled in apartment and hotel room walls through which Stasi agents filmed citizens with special video cameras.
Schools, universities, and hospitals were extensively infiltrated as were organizations, such as computer clubs where teenagers exchanged Western video games.
