Germany’s Office for the Protection of the Constitution as an Instrument for Character Assassination

Where are those Stasi agents today?

In 1990, the then vice-president of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, Peter Frisch – appointed to head it in May 1996 – ruled out employing former Stasi members. He insisted that only reliable agents from the former West Germany were acceptable and that applicants would undergo strict security checks. But we know from the Dreksler scandal that “Junior” was by no means the only ex-Stasi in the service of the Berlin OPC. In addition, there are 15 other state OPC offices and one federal office to consider. It is more than probable that Frisch's declaration was either a politically correct statement for the purpose of disinformation or a pious hope.

A report by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, leaked to the press in 1993, found that 1,335 former full-time Stasi employees and 1,262 unofficial workers were employed in administrative offices of unified Germany. Forty-six worked in federal ministries. More than 400 former full-time and several unofficial Stasi workers had been admitted to the civil service. There are undoubtfully numerous former spies and informants who still work undiscovered in politics, the media, and the fields of culture and economics – some in high positions.