My story. My responsibility.
stasihaft.de and its English edition, stasi-prison.com, are a private project by Mario V.W.B.R. Obst and part of the MVWBRO NETWORK.
I have been designing and developing websites since the 1990s, from small personal sites to large projects. This website is especially personal to me. It tells of a period I did not choose, and which remains part of my life today.
Here, I share my memories, my Stasi files and the questions that surface again when I read these documents. Back then, others wrote about me. They recorded who they believed I was, what I thought and what was to happen to me. Today, I tell the story myself, in my own words and from my own perspective.
This work of remembrance also takes me back to the place where I was imprisoned. At the Andreasstraße Memorial and Education Centre in Erfurt, run by the Weimar-based Stiftung Ettersberg, I share my experiences as an eyewitness. I speak with young people, listen to their thoughts and answer their questions. What is history to them was my life.
How artificial intelligence helps me
This website is being created with support from artificial intelligence. I want to be open about that.
I use AI as a tool for building and implementing the website, correcting text, editing and refining the language of my accounts. It also helps me find sources and research historical context. Its suggestions can contain errors and need to be checked.
My memories, experiences and personal assessments come from me. The idea, design direction and all editorial decisions are mine. I decide which words adequately express my experiences, which sources I use and what I publish.
AI is not used to add content to historical documents. Redactions protecting other people are neither removed nor reconstructed. The short film of me at my sewing machine was animated from a single historical photograph using AI. It is labelled accordingly alongside the video and is not film footage from that time.
Why openness matters to me
Anyone who has experienced the collection and use of personal information against people treats trust with particular care. That is why I want to make clear how this website is created, which tools I use and who bears responsibility.
For me, this also means using as little data as possible about the people who read this site. The website uses no analytics or advertising tracking. My privacy policy explains which technical data is processed to operate it.
New documents may also supplement or correct my recollections and their historical context. This openness is part of my work on my own history.
I bear responsibility for this website as a person and as its author. Ultimately, a tool is only as useful as the person using it.