Behind the Berlin Wall – State Security in the GDR Dictatorship

The exhibition Behind the Berlin Wall - State Security in the GDR Dictatorship summarises essential parts of the permanent exhibition of the StasiMuseum in Berlin. It draws a line from the beginnings of communist dictatorship in the Soviet-occupied part of post-war Germany to the fall of the Berlin Wall and the peaceful revolution in East Germany. The focus is on the East German Communist Party’s main instrument of power: the Ministry for State Security, which remained the centre of power in East Germany until 1989. This was based on a system of force, threats, rewards and privilege. Individuals were taught to conform, comply and, whenever possible, participate. The East German Communist Party, with its unrestrained access to almost all areas of life, was able to comprehensively control the population and to reward and reprimand as needed.