After a good and very filling breakfast it is time to start our day of exploration. Today we plan to first head to the Stasi Museum, back in the former DDR part of Berlin before returning downtown at noon and then visiting the Reichstag building and Tiergarten in the evening. To get to the Stasi museum we have to take the U-Bahn which in itself is an adventure as there are multiple trains and subways that intersect at Potsdamer Platz. Finally we find the right access and then we just have to pick the right direction and we are on our way.
We have to change to a different line at Alexanderplatz and from here it is just a few more stops before our final stop, Magdalenenstrasse.
Now with the rain seemingly following us we have to make our way to the Stasimuseum, if only we could find which way it is as everything looks quite similar in this Soviet era apartment building paradise.
Finally we find a sign on a building and make our way through some very Communist era looking buildings towards the heart of the Stasi compound.
At least here the museum is clearly marked but with no rain yet we first decide to take a look at the outdoor exhibits right in front of the building.
It seems that these panels are dedicated to the demonstrations that brought down the DDR government, from Leipzig to Berlin and the other major cities of DDR.
Inside we way our entrance tickets and then examine the details of the model replica of the whole complex. Here is where the creme de la creme of the Stasi lived in relative luxury compared to the other people in the country.
And then the exhibits start with one of the vans used by Stasi to capture anyone deemed dangerous or undesirable. It was built to be undistinguishable from other typical vans from outside, not sure why given the power that they were wielding.
The first exhibits are showing the history of Stasi and the DDR and what was promised versus what was delivered. For example to stop the outflow to West Germany they promised houses for everyone which led to the apartment building boom.
And of course a section is dedicated to showing how subservient Stasi was to the NKVD and other Soviet secret police as well as how Germans needed to learn from the Soviets how to win. Which was likely a major theme in the first years of the DDR.
Of course building the Berlin Wall is the focus on another part of the exhibit and how Stasi was in charge in ensuring that people do not escape the country to the west either below or through the wall or over the border. And to shoot anyone that dared to cross, no questions asked.
Another section shows how people were drawn to become collaborators, some were willing and some less so and how they were providing information about their fellow citizens. We also like the small section about surveillance equipment that is here even though there will be larger one later on the tour.
Stasi was run during the majority of the DDR by Erich Mielke so a lot of information is about him also. As well as his offices that can now be visited with appropiate era decor which is interesting.
The rooms occupied by Mielke were a bit more fancy, at least by Communist standards which makes sense given that he was the leader of it all. Maybe even of all DDR given that he was the person who helped remove two DDR leaders, Ulbricht and Honecker.
Here he even had a bed in case he needed to sleep while in office. And also a long table for meetings, not sure how often it was used though given the propensity of one person to give all orders in communist countries.
Next is a section showing that the indoctrination started early, with children given tanks and mock grenades to play while being taught to hate the Western world.
The most interesting section however is the one regarding surveillance. It shows the many ways Stasi was hiding microphones to listen in on conversations. And they also placed a camera in the bathroom in the Stasi headquarters that was found only during renovations! This was used by Mielke to secretly observe visitors from his adjacent executive suite.
And Stasi was an expert in hidden cameras. They were hidden in watering cans, ties, cigarette packs literally everywhere. And they had access to a huge collection of forged documents from police, to water counter checker and so on. Not sure why they needed all this given the power they had but for certain they used them quite extensively according to the exhibits. And then we are done and it is time to exit the museum and return to Alexanderplatz to explore another section of the downtown are that we didn’t see the day prior.
