The Stasimuseum (also known in
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany, the country of the Germans and German things
**Germania (Roman era)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
as the ) is a research and memorial centre concerning the political system of the former
East Germany
East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...
. It is located in the
Lichtenberg locality of
Berlin
Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
, in the former headquarters of the
Stasi
The Ministry for State Security (, ; abbreviated MfS), commonly known as the (, an abbreviation of ), was the Intelligence agency, state security service and secret police of East Germany from 1950 to 1990. It was one of the most repressive pol ...
(officially the ''Ministerium für Staatssicherheit''), on Ruschestraße, near
Frankfurter Allee and
U-Bahn station Magdalenenstraße.
History
The centrepiece of the exhibition is the office and working quarters of the former Minister of State Security – i.e. head of the Stasi –
Erich Mielke
Erich Fritz Emil Mielke (; 28 December 1907 – 21 May 2000) was a German communist official who served as head of the East Germany, East German Ministry for State Security (''Ministerium für Staatsicherheit'' – MfS), better known as the Sta ...
. The museum is operated by the ''Antistalinistische Aktion Berlin-Normannenstraße'' (ASTAK), which was founded by civil rights
activists
Activism consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived common good. Forms of activism range from mandate build ...
in Berlin in 1990.
[Trägerverein ASTAK e.V.](_blank)
From the home page. It aims to foster the development of the museum as a "centre for the collection, preservation, documentation, rehabilitation and exhibition of evidence and research materials relating to East Germany".
In 2010 the German government announced its intention to take over the Stasimuseum, which led to a three-way dispute between ASTAK, local government in Lichtenberg, and the German national government over the future of the site.
ASTAK subsequently announced that Building 1 of the Stasi headquarters, the museum's original location, would be reconstructed and renovated, and the museum would be temporarily moved to Building 22.
Home page, as announced on 3 August 2010.
The museum has approximately 100,000 visitors per year.
Gallery
image:Stasi-Museum_front_view.png
image:Stasi-Museum_entrance.jpg
image:Stasi-Museum_entrance_2.jpg
image:Stasi-Museum_exhibition_room_1.jpg
image:Stasi-Museum_exhibition_room_2.jpg
image:Stasi-Museum_exhibition_room_3.jpg
image:Stasi-Museum_office_room.jpg
image:Stasi-Museum_telefon.jpg
Erich Mielke's office
image:Berlin-MfS-2-2007.jpg
image:Berlin-MfS-3-2007.jpg
image:Schreibtisch von Erich Mielke.JPG
See also
* Memorial and Education Centre Andreasstrasse (Erfurt)
References
External links
Home page in English
{{Visitor attractions in Berlin
Museums in Berlin
Museums established in 1990
Museums of communism
Buildings and structures in Lichtenberg
Cold War museums in Germany
1990 establishments in Germany
Intelligence agency headquarters