Jens Gieseke is head of the “Communism and Society” research department at the Centre for Contemporary History in Potsdam, Germany. He previously worked for fifteen years in the research division of the Federal Commissioner for the Stasi Records in Berlin. He co-edited Staatssicherheit und Gesellschaft (Göttingen, 2007); Handbuch der kommunistischen Geheimdienste in Osteuropa (Göttingen, 2008); and Die Geschichte der SED (Berlin, 2011).

“Gieseke treats… many issues with careful and lucid analysis, confining himself to the known facts. He rejects the hyperbolic in favor of more mundane explanations. The truth is bad enough… Essential.” • Choice“The book is an exceptional achievement in every respect: it offers a calm, detached, factual and well balanced socio-historical analysis of the MfS (Ministry for Security) that covers all aspects.” • Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung“[This book] provides an excellent introduction to the chronology, structure, and activities of the MfS.” • Kritika. Explorations in Russian and Eurasian History“This is an excellent book, full of careful, balanced judgements and a wealth of concisely-communicated knowledge. It is also well written. Indeed, it is the best book yet published on the MfS…More than any other written on the MfS, his is a work of real scholarship which attempts a comprehensive history of the Ministry and its operations and assesses their development and significance.” • German History“Gieseke’s opus magnum belongs to one of the greatest scholarly achievements [in this field].” • Militägeschichtliche Zeitschrift“Not only does Gieseke's book deserve the widest possible audience in Germany, but an English translation would fill a glaring need elsewhere in the world.” • H-German“Gieseke has with this book produced an outstanding study of the phenomenon of state security of the GDR with all its important aspects. It is highly recommended to specialists as well as a wider readership.” • H-Soz-u-Kult

• PrefacePreface to the 2011 editionIntroduction: Ten Years and Ten DaysChapter 1. Antifascism – Stalinism – Cold Civil War: Origins and Influences, 1945 to 1956Chapter 2. The Safest GDR in the World – The Driving Forces of Stasi GrowthChapter 3. The Unofficial Collaborator – A New Type of InformerChapter 4. Blanket Surveillance? State Security in East German SocietyChapter 5. Resistance – Opposition – PersecutionChapter 6. Wolf and Co. – MfS Operations AbroadChapter 7. Final Crisis and Collapse, 1989-90Chapter 8. Legacy – Aufarbeitung – Culture of Memory: The Second Life of the StasiNotesSelect Bibliography

Jens Gieseke is head of the “Communism and Society” research department at the Centre for Contemporary History in Potsdam, Germany. He previously worked for fifteen years in the research division of the Federal Commissioner for the Stasi Records in Berlin. He co-edited Staatssicherheit und Gesellschaft (Göttingen, 2007); Handbuch der kommunistischen Geheimdienste in Osteuropa (Göttingen, 2008); and Die Geschichte der SED (Berlin, 2011).

“Gieseke treats… many issues with careful and lucid analysis, confining himself to the known facts. He rejects the hyperbolic in favor of more mundane explanations. The truth is bad enough… Essential.” • Choice“The book is an exceptional achievement in every respect: it offers a calm, detached, factual and well balanced socio-historical analysis of the MfS (Ministry for Security) that covers all aspects.” • Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung“[This book] provides an excellent introduction to the chronology, structure, and activities of the MfS.” • Kritika. Explorations in Russian and Eurasian History“This is an excellent book, full of careful, balanced judgements and a wealth of concisely-communicated knowledge. It is also well written. Indeed, it is the best book yet published on the MfS…More than any other written on the MfS, his is a work of real scholarship which attempts a comprehensive history of the Ministry and its operations and assesses their development and significance.” • German History“Gieseke’s opus magnum belongs to one of the greatest scholarly achievements [in this field].” • Militägeschichtliche Zeitschrift“Not only does Gieseke's book deserve the widest possible audience in Germany, but an English translation would fill a glaring need elsewhere in the world.” • H-German“Gieseke has with this book produced an outstanding study of the phenomenon of state security of the GDR with all its important aspects. It is highly recommended to specialists as well as a wider readership.” • H-Soz-u-Kult

• PrefacePreface to the 2011 editionIntroduction: Ten Years and Ten DaysChapter 1. Antifascism – Stalinism – Cold Civil War: Origins and Influences, 1945 to 1956Chapter 2. The Safest GDR in the World – The Driving Forces of Stasi GrowthChapter 3. The Unofficial Collaborator – A New Type of InformerChapter 4. Blanket Surveillance? State Security in East German SocietyChapter 5. Resistance – Opposition – PersecutionChapter 6. Wolf and Co. – MfS Operations AbroadChapter 7. Final Crisis and Collapse, 1989-90Chapter 8. Legacy – Aufarbeitung – Culture of Memory: The Second Life of the StasiNotesSelect Bibliography

Jens Gieseke is head of the “Communism and Society” research department at the Centre for Contemporary History in Potsdam, Germany. He previously worked for fifteen years in the research division of the Federal Commissioner for the Stasi Records in Berlin. He co-edited Staatssicherheit und Gesellschaft (Göttingen, 2007); Handbuch der kommunistischen Geheimdienste in Osteuropa (Göttingen, 2008); and Die Geschichte der SED (Berlin, 2011).

“Gieseke treats… many issues with careful and lucid analysis, confining himself to the known facts. He rejects the hyperbolic in favor of more mundane explanations. The truth is bad enough… Essential.” • Choice“The book is an exceptional achievement in every respect: it offers a calm, detached, factual and well balanced socio-historical analysis of the MfS (Ministry for Security) that covers all aspects.” • Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung“[This book] provides an excellent introduction to the chronology, structure, and activities of the MfS.” • Kritika. Explorations in Russian and Eurasian History“This is an excellent book, full of careful, balanced judgements and a wealth of concisely-communicated knowledge. It is also well written. Indeed, it is the best book yet published on the MfS…More than any other written on the MfS, his is a work of real scholarship which attempts a comprehensive history of the Ministry and its operations and assesses their development and significance.” • German History“Gieseke’s opus magnum belongs to one of the greatest scholarly achievements [in this field].” • Militägeschichtliche Zeitschrift“Not only does Gieseke's book deserve the widest possible audience in Germany, but an English translation would fill a glaring need elsewhere in the world.” • H-German“Gieseke has with this book produced an outstanding study of the phenomenon of state security of the GDR with all its important aspects. It is highly recommended to specialists as well as a wider readership.” • H-Soz-u-Kult

• PrefacePreface to the 2011 editionIntroduction: Ten Years and Ten DaysChapter 1. Antifascism – Stalinism – Cold Civil War: Origins and Influences, 1945 to 1956Chapter 2. The Safest GDR in the World – The Driving Forces of Stasi GrowthChapter 3. The Unofficial Collaborator – A New Type of InformerChapter 4. Blanket Surveillance? State Security in East German SocietyChapter 5. Resistance – Opposition – PersecutionChapter 6. Wolf and Co. – MfS Operations AbroadChapter 7. Final Crisis and Collapse, 1989-90Chapter 8. Legacy – Aufarbeitung – Culture of Memory: The Second Life of the StasiNotesSelect Bibliography