The Stasi were the secret police / intelligence agency / state security arm / "Shield and Sword" of the GDR beginning in 1950. In many ways they were an extension of the KGB. It was an agency styled after the KGB and guided by Moscow. The main goal was to collect information on dissidents, and quiet them in any way imaginable.
The museum is hard to find and barely looks like a museum. We came up Ruschestraße and nearly missed the entrance. There's a decrepit yellow concrete pylon printed with "Stasi Museum". It's fitting.
The museum lies in the most important building of the Stasi compound in Berlin.
This is where Erich Mielke held his office and commanded the Stasi.
The Stasi combined paranoia and bureaucracy in a completely insane and structured way. Check out these jars.
You guessed it, it's the "scent" wiped off the sat-in chairs / sofas / couches of dissidents! Here's the checklist.
I suppose that this was to be given to dogs to smell. Said dogs were then brought in to identify the dissident in question. Dissident identified! I love the idea of shelf after shelf of jars in some East German basement.
The GDR collapsed after the removal of the wall in 1989, Mielke's office looks today as it did then.
I stress that this was 1989.
After the fall of the GDR, the people of East Germany stormed the Stasi compound seizing documentation that the Stasi hadn't already shredded. Poorly. Today, the spied upon can view their non-obliterated Stasi files.
The museum covers the propaganda, the observation devices, and the paranoia.
The car is particularly impressive. The panels in the door included IR emitters to allow cameras to capture images at night. Only 25 were made and they cost 200,000+ marks per car - the working class East Germans earned in the neighborhood of 1200 marks per year.
And here's Collin outside the museum.
Next it was off to Dong Xuan Center for Vietnamese food and browsing. So many things. There are several long warehouses full of "stuff". Each warehouse looks pretty much like this.
Clothes. Possibly bootleg DVDs. Fake flowers. Knick-knacks. Shoes. Toys.
I had some tasty pho, mostly digging the super spicy accouterments - some nice "thai" chiles and an awesome garlic thing. It was a good time. As will be a theme of this trip, we should have spared some room for souvenirs.
Next back to the hotel and on to meet Christoph et al at Spätzle & Knödel. Super fun casual German food and tasty beer. Emily and I both rolled with the Schweinebraten mit Schwarzbiersoße und Bayerisch Kraut - slow roasted pork with sauerkraut. We went with Knödel over Spätzle. Knödel is a sort of German dumpling. Christoph selected a mix of dumpling. Just an awesome sauerkraut. Good times.
I don't think that northern Germany is much known for its food - this could be because I hung with Bavarians all weekend, but who knows. I had a tasty meal, but I'm sure it would be better in Munich. Specifically the pretzels.
Next up, Collin and Emily check out the wall memorial and Christoph and Collin face off on the Painstation.
No comments:
Post a Comment