The Stasi museum: Berlin (English home page)

http://www.stasimuseum.de/en/enindex.htm

Stasi Museum Photos

Welcome to the Stasi Museum Berlin


The Stasi-Museum is located in House 1 on the former grounds of the headquarters of the GDR Ministry for State Security (MfS). The building was erected in 1960-61 as the offices of Erich Mielke, who served as Minister for State Security from 1957 until the end of the GDR.
On 15 January 1990 demonstrators took over the Stasi headquarters. A week later, the Central Round Table, a committee made up of representatives of the SED dictatorship and civil rights groups, decided that a “memorial and research centre on GDR Stalinism” should be established in House 1.

When nothing came of this declaration of intent, members of the Berlin citizens’ committee and other civil rights activists took action and began securing the historic site. In August they founded the association “Antistalinistische Aktion e.V.” (ASTAK). On 7 November 1990, it opened the Research Centre and Memorial at Normannenstrasse with an exhibition titled “Against the Sleep of Reason”. House 1, later named the Stasi Museum, has been open to the public ever since.

The offices of Erich Mielke are preserved in their original condition and form the centrepiece of the historic site.

Since 1990, ASTAK has shown different exhibitions, providing information about the State Security and how its activities affected the GDR population. The permanent exhibition “State Security in the SED Dictatorship,” which the association created jointly with the Stasi Records Agency, opened in House 1 in January 2015.

State Security in the SED Dictatorship

After World War II, under the direction of the Soviets, German communists began establishing a dictatorial regime in the Soviet occupation zone in Germany. In 1946, also under Soviet pressure, the German Communist Party (KPD) and German Social Democratic Party (SPD) were merged to form the Socialist Unity Party (SED). The SED remained the centre of power in the GDR until 1989.
The rulers created a system of power based on force, threats, rewards and privilege. Individuals were taught to conform, comply and, whenever possible, participate. The SED, with unrestrained access to almost all areas of life - the churches remained an exception - was able to comprehensively control the population and to reward and reprimand as needed.

The Ministry for State Security (MfS) constituted the centre of the ruling apparatus. Under the SED leadership, the so-called “Shield and Sword of the Party” was responsible for protecting the “workers’ and peasants’ state” and securing the SED dictatorship.

The permanent exhibition “State Security in the SED Dictatorship” illustrates and explains the structure, development and operations of the MfS. It describes the people who worked for this institution and the methods they employed.

The permanent exhibition was developed by the ASTAK association in cooperation with the Agency of the Federal Commissioner for Stasi Records (BStU), which was responsible for the exhibition content on the 1st floor.

The offices of Erich Mielke, the last GDR Minister for State Security, are preserved in their original condition and form the centrepiece of the exhibition.

We offer public guided tours in English every Saturday and Sunday at 3 pm.

No extra charge, no booking required.