Tour the deep dark world of the East German state security agency known as Stasi. Uniquely powerful at spying on its citizens, until the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 the Stasi masterminded a system of surveillance and psychological pressure that kept the country under control for decades. Hubertus Knabe studies the Stasi — and was spied on by them. He shares stunning details from the fall of a surveillance state, and shows how easy it was for neighbor to turn on neighbor.

The dark secrets of a surveillance state

East Germany’s Stasi built a surveillance state so vast that one employee monitored every 180 people, with more than 200,000 informants—sometimes even friends or family. The agency used psychological tactics to paralyze dissent instead of just imprisoning critics. By collecting personal secrets and undermining trust, the Stasi controlled society through fear and suspicion. After the regime’s collapse, activists saved millions of files, exposing the deep reach and dangers of unchecked surveillance.

The Stasi Turned Ordinary Citizens Into Relentless Spies

*The Prohibited District*

Europe