crimes committed by totalitarian regimes - Ministrstvo za pravosodje

Crimes committed by totalitarian regimes
This Panel is subject to the motto of reconciliation. It is not by accident that I have not yet mentioned
this term.
Reconciliation is a gift. It happens in relationships and stands at the end of a single, most hurtful
process. It requires that injustice be addressed, that those responsible repent and that their victims are
prepared to forgive. Such a beneficial process enables both the victims and offenders a new, liberated
life.
Even alienated people or population groups can reconcile: What kind of Europe would we have
today if its people had not reached out to Germany in reconciliation after the horrors of the National
Socialist crimes?
However, unfortunately, the term “reconciliation” is often used carelessly, and yes, is even abused.
For the sake of an alleged reconciliation, the offenders are not made accountable, the sufferings of the
victims are not specified, and the truth is hidden in inaccessible archives. However, to remain silent
about the past, to renounce retribution, contradicts reconciliation. Reconciliation, which intends to
manage without truth, is just a foul peace.
In Germany, we are confronted with the task to come to terms with two very different totalitarian
regimes. This occasionally results in tensions, which I have no time to address here. However, I am
convinced that the effort to come to terms with the communist rule has to do with the deficits concerning
this matter after 1945. Never again were the victims to wait decades for their redemption, never again
were the former elite to unrestrictedly continue their careers.
It would go beyond the scope of this discourse to tell the stories of all institutions in Germany, which,
at a great thematic breadth, dedicate themselves to the reconciliation of the Communist SED-dictatorship.
The Stasi Records Office I direct is the largest institution. It disposes of approximately 170
kilometres of files of the GDR’s Secret Police, and through its work, essentially contributes to personal
and social reconciliation processes.
However, it is only part of a network, consisting of central and regional institutions, along with state
and private institutions. For example, I would like to mention the Foundation for the Reconstruction
on the SED Dictatorship, numerous private archives and reconciliation initiatives, as well as victim
associations and counselling centres. The activity of these institutions is complemented by the Laws for
the Cleansing of SED-Sponsored Injustice, which above all, govern the rehabilitation and indemnification
of the formerly politically persecuted.
Most of them do not owe their existence to political decisions, but to civic commitment. This also
applies to the Stasi Records Office: The protection of the files and their access goes back to the time
of the peaceful revolution and the occupation of the Stasi-offices in numerous cities of the GDR. Only
great public pressure resulted in the governments of the GDR and the Federal Republic to include a
provision in the Unification Treaty, according to which the files would also remain open in the united
Germany.
Two fundamental principles characterized the Stasi Document Law, on which basis my office
is working: the right of the public to inspect the files and the protection of personal rights. It is selfevident
that there is, to some extent, tension between the two. However, experience of more than 16
years shows that practical solutions were definitely found. At that time, it was particularly disputed
whether the victims of the Ministry for State Security and the public had the right to know the names of
the perpetrators. People feared that there would be acts of revenge. However, no such acts were made
known.
The right of every person to inspect all existing Stasi documents about themselves is of special
significance. Since then, 1.6 million people have made use of their right by filing corresponding
applications. The demand for inspecting the files is unalteredly high. During the year 2007 only, we
received more than 100,000 applications for inspecting the records.
The Stasi documents we manage are used on a large scale by scientists and publicists to research the
power structures of the GDR. Legal rules, which stipulate the weighing of the public interest against the
protection of personality rights regarding each individual case, apply to the release of the documents.
The scientists of our office concentrate on researching the structure, effect and methods of the
Ministry for State Security. Numerous publications have been issued, which have become standard
works of GDR historiography.
Still, there is a gap in Germany between the existing knowledge about the GDR’s system of power
and the publicly spread information. Thus, one of the focal points of our work is to inform the public,
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