C
Cathoholic
Guest
November 26, 2020
History. It’s a curious thing. We learn from it, or at least we should, and we try to use it as a guide for the present and the future. Of course, we all interpret it a bit differently.
At the close of World War II in 1945, the nation of Germany was partitioned into two distinct nations. The Bundesrepublik Deutschland in the west, or West Germany, and the misleadingly named German Democratic Republic (Deutsche Demokratische Republik) in the east, or East Germany. Further, the then-former capital of Germany, Berlin, was divided into 4 sectors, with the British, French and American sectors becoming West Berlin and the Soviet sector becoming East Berlin. Democracy and republics in the western parts of both versus the eastern European version of communism in the eastern parts.
The East German law enforcement apparatus was monstrous, cruel, brutal and pervasive. Although there were local law enforcement organizations, the primary responsibility for maintaining law and order throughout East Germany belonged to the Ministry for State Security, or the Stasi as it was called. It must be made crystal clear here that the Stasi and the governments of East Germany and East Berlin were decidedly not Nazis.
A brief description of the Stasi from Wikipedia:
Any transgression of behavior would be reported to the Stasi and the alleged transgressor(s) would be confronted, most likely arrested, possibly beaten or tortured and even imprisoned. And as we all know, anyone attempting to leave the Utopian society of East Germany or East Berlin for the west were most likely stopped violently or killed outright.
Anyway, try to imagine living in a society like that . . .
American Stasi
By Bruce TownshendHistory. It’s a curious thing. We learn from it, or at least we should, and we try to use it as a guide for the present and the future. Of course, we all interpret it a bit differently.
At the close of World War II in 1945, the nation of Germany was partitioned into two distinct nations. The Bundesrepublik Deutschland in the west, or West Germany, and the misleadingly named German Democratic Republic (Deutsche Demokratische Republik) in the east, or East Germany. Further, the then-former capital of Germany, Berlin, was divided into 4 sectors, with the British, French and American sectors becoming West Berlin and the Soviet sector becoming East Berlin. Democracy and republics in the western parts of both versus the eastern European version of communism in the eastern parts.
The East German law enforcement apparatus was monstrous, cruel, brutal and pervasive. Although there were local law enforcement organizations, the primary responsibility for maintaining law and order throughout East Germany belonged to the Ministry for State Security, or the Stasi as it was called. It must be made crystal clear here that the Stasi and the governments of East Germany and East Berlin were decidedly not Nazis.
A brief description of the Stasi from Wikipedia:
. . . Let’s focus for a second on that “vast network of citizens turned informants.” First, those people could hardly be accurately described as citizens, as they were more like subjects, vassals, serfs and comrades in the communist system set up under the supervision of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). The Stasi had a reputation as seemingly having been everywhere and knowing virtually everything. Nonetheless, there were nowhere near enough actual members of the Stasi itself to have been that effective in controlling the population. . . . the Stasi used the people of East Germany against themselves to help them keep dissension suppressed, political opposition crushed and, most dreadfully, the population intimidated. In other words, the Stasi didn’t need to be everywhere all the time because it had effectively made the people of East Germany their own enemies! Fear was the most useful and effective tool that the Stasi employed.
Any transgression of behavior would be reported to the Stasi and the alleged transgressor(s) would be confronted, most likely arrested, possibly beaten or tortured and even imprisoned. And as we all know, anyone attempting to leave the Utopian society of East Germany or East Berlin for the west were most likely stopped violently or killed outright.
Anyway, try to imagine living in a society like that . . .