Stasi Prison 1989 Mario V.W.B.R. Obst
DEEN

History, surveillance and imprisonment

The Stasi

What was the Stasi — and what did its power mean for people in Erfurt?

This overview connects the history of state security with Andreasstraße. My personal account (Mario V.W.B.R. Obst) documents one person’s life. Research and public sources place it in a wider historical context.

A secret police force serving party rule

The Ministry for State Security was founded on 8 February 1950. Its purpose was to secure the SED’s rule and persecute real or perceived opponents. Its history extends from the GDR’s early years, through the construction of the Berlin Wall, to the Peaceful Revolution of 1989. The Stasi operated under the party’s political leadership.[1], [2]

Surveillance reached into everyday life

Letters, telephone calls, movements and personal relationships could all become sources of information. Unofficial collaborators secretly reported on the people around them. State security sought to observe people, influence their actions and combat political dissent. Which measures affected a particular person must be examined through their individual case.[3]

Erfurt: an apparatus and a specific place

The District Administration and its local offices established state security’s presence in the region. The Stasi’s Erfurt remand prison was in Andreasstraße. The People’s Police also used the prison; the period and the responsible authority are therefore crucial when examining a history of imprisonment.[4], [5]

My imprisonment is part of this history. The rehabilitation decision of 1993 overturned the judgment against me and established that it had served the purpose of political persecution. My deprivation of liberty from 14 February to 20 October 1989 was recognised as unjust.[6] My case stands alongside other experiences; it does not speak for everyone who was imprisoned.

Read my story · View the rehabilitation decision

1989: the end of control

On 4 December 1989, citizens occupied the Stasi’s Erfurt District Administration. They wanted to prevent further destruction of records. The place of imprisonment later became a place of remembrance and learning. Today, Andreasstraße and Stiftung Ettersberg communicate this history.[5]

Surviving files provide insights into persecution. They must be read in context and compared with research and personal recollections. This is precisely the approach my website aims to make possible.

What interests you most?

Explore the subjects that interest you. Each link takes you directly to the relevant topic and its sources.

History and powerFoundation, the SED and development up to 1989 Imprisonment in ErfurtPrison conditions and further life stories Surveillance and its consequencesMethods, informants and intrusions into everyday life Records and addressing the pastSaving files, access and rehabilitation

All topics and detailed references

View sources for this overview

Sources are in German; original publication titles are retained.

  1. Jens Gieseke: Von der Gründung bis zum Untergang, bpb, 2 January 2017, sections on the preceding developments, expansion after 1961, détente and dissolution. Open source. ↩
  2. Walter Süß: Das Verhältnis von SED und Staatssicherheit. Eine Skizze seiner Entwicklung, BF informiert 17/1997, published by BStU, Berlin 1997, pp. 4–7 (founding legislation, statutes, political direction and direct leadership contacts). Open source. ↩
  3. Helmut Müller-Enbergs: Inoffizieller Mitarbeiter (IM), MfS encyclopaedia, Federal Archives; functions, estimate for 1989 and regional differences. Open source.
    Roland Wiedmann: Postkontrolle, MfS encyclopaedia, Federal Archives; instructions, selection and processing of postal items. Open source.
    Angela Schmole: Telefonüberwachung, MfS encyclopaedia, Federal Archives; technical development and analysis. Open source.
    Angela Schmole: Beobachtung, operative, MfS encyclopaedia, Federal Archives; commissioning, operational line VIII and use of information. Open source. ↩
  4. Federal Archives: Bezirksverwaltung (BV, BVfS), MfS encyclopaedia, sections on the 1952 reform, the organisational principle of operational lines and tasks reserved for central units. Open source. ↩
  5. Stiftung Ettersberg: Geschichte des Ortes, sections “Andreasstraße im Wandel” and “Erste Stasi-Besetzung in der DDR”, and the life story of Lorenz Pagés (checked again on 2 October 2026). Institutional account.
    Johannes Beleites: Abteilung XIV: Haftvollzug (MfS handbook), published by BStU, Berlin 2009, facsimile reprint of 2004, pp. 61–62, section “BV Erfurt”, on joint use of the prison by the Stasi and the People’s Police. Open research study (PDF). ↩
  6. Erfurt District Court, Second Rehabilitation Division: Decision of 21 April 1993, II Reha 245/93, certified copy dated 26 May 1993, pp. 1–2. Personal collection of Mario V.W.B.R. Obst; the available digital copy was read. Pages 3–4 contain a historical information leaflet. Open redacted version. ↩