Stasi

The Stasi was the state security service and secret police of East Germany from 1950 to 1990, responsible for maintaining state authority and the position of the ruling Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED). It employed a network of civilian informants and had a large elite paramilitary force, conducting espionage and other clandestine operations both within and outside East Germany. The Stasi was headed by Erich Mielke from 1957 to 1989, and its foreign-intelligence service, the Office of Reconnaissance, gained a reputation as one of the most effective intelligence agencies of the Cold War under the leadership of Markus Wolf. After German reunification, former Stasi officials were prosecuted for their crimes, and the Stasi's surveillance files were declassified, allowing citizens to inspect their personal files on request.learn more on wikipedia