July 4, 2023 - Germany
Leipzig - Stasi Museum

Lynnette standing outside the notorious "Round Corner" building, once the communist secret police (Stasi) headquarters, a place you did not want to be, is now a museum about the Stasi.

"A fascinating record of this dark chapter of German history.  And it's chilling to see all of this while walking through the actual perpetrators' offices."  ... Rick Steves

Basically the museum was this hallway and adjoining rooms -- these were the Stasi's actual office spaces.  We had an audio guide and everything was in both German and English.

"The Stasi recruited informants from every walk of life, often intimidating them into cooperating by threatening their jobs, their children's education, or worse. At its peak, an estimated one in seven East Germans was cooperating with the Stasi.  These informants were coerced into reporting on the activities of their coworkers, friends, neighbors, and even immediate family members. Sometimes the Stasi would pursue criminal prosecution and imprisonment.  The worst offenders might be deported.  Most often, the Stasi simply harassed.  They wanted suspects to know they were being watched -- to destabilize and marginalize them.  Often no formal accusation ever came of these investigations, but lives were ruined nonetheless.  .... The Stasi collected whatever bits of evidence they could.  Soon after the Wall fell, DDR authorities scrambled to destroy the illicit information their agents and informants had collected.  But the new government mandated that these records be preserved.  These days, German citizens can read the files once kept on them."  ... Rick Steves