Book Summary
The edited volume, edited by Helmut Muller-Enbergs and Thomas Wegener Friis, is the first step of the project “DDR-espionage in the World”, which explores the intelligence activities of the GDR outside of Germany. East Germany and certainly its secret police “The Stasi” is a legend within the World of intelligence – for better and for worse. But what is behind the scenes? How well did the German communist agents actually do, when they went beyond the comfort zone of the German language?
The first volume in the series presents 13 articles concerning 10 countries: Albania, America, Andorra, Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Finland, France, Greece, and Great Britain. It's a broad variation of small and big states, of partners and foes. The authors present the current state of art, and their work is meant to encourage new research into Cold War espionage. Although, the first East German archives were made accessible already in the early 1990s, research German focused primarily of local history. Today, several other Central European and even Western archives are open improving the possibilities to systematic research in historical espionage considerably.
This volume - as well as the following - is meant to give new impulses, especially to a strengthened cooperation between European researchers. It should rather be a point of departure than the final answer to all questions. Read more
