The Telephone Won The Cold War

Posted: 9/20/2014

Trigger

Recently read “Erstmals veröffentlichte Telefonmitschnitte/Die geheimen Lausch-Protokolle der Stasi” (German laguage). The article is about how intensive the secret service of the former German Democratic Republic (Stasi; Staatssicherheitsdienst) eavesdropped on domestic and foreign telephone calls.

Telephones In The Former GDR

Generally telephones in private homes were scarce until the very end of the GDR. Citizens had to wait for several years to obtain a telephone for their home.

Dissidents were given a preference so that the Stasi could listen in to their conversations.

According to the above article, the entire telephone network/system of the former GDR was totally outdated and obsolete by 1989. It was still mostly an analog telephone system.

Copy Machines In The Former GDR

Very similar story! Copy machines were scarce throughout the GDR. They were outdated. They were generally kept locked up all the time and only selected few persons were allowed to have access to them.

So much for a paranoid fear by the totalitarian dictators of their own citizens.