Congratulations on turning to our detailed description of the Stasi Museum in Berlin, Germany. If you have recently stumbled across this topic, you could be having some questions about what Stasi Museum is, or why it is important to visit it. Spare some time to be our guest and come along to discover the Stasi, the East Germany secret police, and this absorbing museum.
The Stasi’s Past Times
The Stasi, short for Staatssicherheitsdienst, was used as the government’s secret police of East Germany during Cold War years. The organization was infamous for the check on freedom, spying and suppression of the East Germany citizens.
In the Stasi Museum you will learn a lot about this secret police force and its activities and the effect on the citizens living in the country of East Germany during this period of oppression.
Exploring the Exhibits
The Stasi Museum is most visited museum in Germany and is established in the building which used to be occupied by Stasi in Berlin. The interior of the building contains numerous displays that explain what the organisation does and how it does it.
Original Offices: Visit the rooms where real officers of several Stas situated and furnished with the actual pieces of furniture and equipment. This simulation offers a view of what the Stasi was like on a day to day and the rigorous training a recruit had to go through.
Surveillance Techniques: Familiarize yourself with the methods of spies from the Stasi: In the Stasi’s arsenal of spying tools, there were hidden cameras, nicknamed the ‘eye of Moskau,’ ‘sentries,’ and ‘sound bugs;’ telephone wiretaps; acoustic listeners; Revision 5/89 Gadgets; Vehicle-Mounted Panoramic Mirror For Observation of Vehicles; Vehicle Mounted Pneumatic Sphere for Observation of Pedestrians One can get the actual experience of the techniques realized for you in the interactive displays.
Interrogation Rooms: Walk through the buildings and meet places where people were interrogated and psychologically tortured. Such information is given out by former prisoners of Stasi who would narrate these operations at the Ministery.
Germany Today: How It all Began the Rise and Fall of the Stasi
The Stasi Museum also explores how the secret police organization was built, grew in strength, and how it collapsed. Read about how and where Stasi recruited its members, the various training methods used and the impressive density of agents it maintained.
Learn about the circumstances of the GDR by looking at the dissolution of the GDR’s famous symbol, the Berlin Wall and following this, the dissolution of the Stasi. This important period in the German history is described in rather great detail through this museum.
Make the Most of Your Visit
Plan Ahead
For more information about visiting times and changes to these timings please visit the Stasi Museum’s website before your visit to find out about current temporary exhibitions and events. You may also want to order tickets in advance so that the need to wait in long lines will not be felt, most especially in popular visiting seasons.
Allow Sufficient Time
It is recommended to spend a lot of time inside the museum in order to see all the important exhibits. As a rule, a person can spend about two to four hours in the exhibitions, depending upon the level of his or her concentration.
Get to Benefit from the Guided Tours
For those who want to know even more about the exhibits and the story of the Stasi it will be useful to take a guided tour. Tourist guides can add more interpretations of the sites or objects, as well as clarify anything you would like to know.
Reflect and Engage
Visiting the rooms that used to be concealed by the Stasi, try to remember how do we cherish historical truth paying regard to the given experience. Explore the exhibits, find out individual experiences of people and learn more about this important epoch in history.
Trip to the Stasi Museum in Berlin is definitely worth the time and effort, the experience is ratherewarding. When you walkthrough the various sections of the Museum you will of great help in understanding what the secret police did to the East Germans and equally important the fight for freedoms.
Table of Contents