Friday, May 22, 2009

GERMANY: The Enemy From Within

Only some hours ago, German National TV (ARD) had the news that a former East German State Security ("Stasi") agent and "GDR" state party (SED) member was behind the murder of a certain West Berlin student Benno Ohnesorg.

About 40 years ago, Ohnesorg took part in a demonstration against the Shah of Persia, Reza Pahlevi, who was then visiting Berlin. The innocent student was cornered by the West Berlin policeman Kurras, now identified as an East German mole, and shot dead in a quiet dark place in the neighbourhood of the turmoil.

At the time, it seemed the real circumstances of this crime were not evaluated properly by the authorities, but the death of Ohnesorg triggered off an escalation of the students' protest which had already begun on a rather low level. A video on the background of the Ohnesorg murder, commented by Ulrike Meinhof, later leader of the RAF terrorist group, showed how deeply the impact of that crime influenced the West German students' movement and their protagonists. Even many regular citizens, regarded as "completely unpolitical", were shocked.



Therefore, it can be stated that the crime of a Stasi mole almost helped to turn the Federal Republic of Germany into turmoil:

An escalation of open protest, abduction and bloody murder of West German politicians and "celebrities" of the economic elite followed. And many years later, after terrorism had been stopped and the German reunification had been achieved, we heard to our great astonishment that RAF terrorists had always found a save haven in the East German Republic. Even though there had been a few East German citizens who put at risk their very existence when they informed West German authorities about such puzzling things as: "One of those guys from your "wanted" poster is living in my neighbourhood, just around the corner", there was no action to follow as nobody would believe them.

And after the reunification, insiders and Stasi victims who requested a better control of the former East German state security members found it difficult to make their position heard. In fact, it was the time of "appeasement", opened by the Federal Chancellor Kohl whom the reunification helped to survive at least for some further years. If he and his Minister of the Interior had had to decide, all documents of the former East German state security would have been destroyed.

It was in Bavaria where the local government was finally forced to stop Stasi activities when some remnants from the grey empire tried to take over control of Munich airport under the cover of private security services.

Now we've got another proof of how dangerous those people really have been and still are. Therefore, it would be wise for the Western intelligence community to provide our country with all the knowledge they have about former East German State Security. Especially U.S. services are requested to do so because it was them who seem to know most about the GDR....


Former RAF leader Ulrike Meinhof speaking in the aftermath of the Ohnesorg murder (above). Here's what she said: "When the Shah of Persia came to the Federal Republic, we didn't know much about Iran, we didn't know much about our own country either. But when the students took to the streets to make known the truth about Persia, took to the streets because another public stage was not available to them, the truth about the country we live in turned out as well. We found out that it was impossible to receive the head of a police state without being a sympathizer of the police state itself."

To read a German press report - click here !
Title: The Shot that Changed the Federal Republic


my personal view:
If all creativity East German Security developed to police its own people, to spy the West and to incite mistrust within our West German society, if all that creativity had been used instead to the well-being of its people and to the benefit of the East German economy, that small and shabby GDR would never have collapsed so miserably in 1989. Ulysses