Stasi Museum
Encyclopedia
The Stasi Museum is a research and memorial centre concerning the political system of the former East Germany. It is located in the Lichtenberg locality
of Berlin
, in the former headquarters of the Stasi
(officially the Ministerium für Staatssicherheit), on Ruschestraße, near Frankfurter Allee
and U-Bahn station Magdalenenstraße
. The centrepiece of the exhibition is the office and working quarters of the former Minister of State Security – i.e. head of the Stasi – Erich Mielke
. The museum is operated by the Antistalinistische Aktion Berlin-Normannenstraße (ASTAK), which was founded by civil rights activists in Berlin in 1990. It aims to foster the development of the museum as a "centre for the collection, preservation, documentation, rehabilitation and exhibition of evidence and research materials relating to East Germany".
In 2010 the German government announced its intention to take over the Stasi Museum, which led to a three-way dispute between ASTAK, local government in Lichtenberg, and the German national government over the future of the site. ASTAK subsequently announced that Building 1 of the Stasi headquarters, the museum's original location, would be reconstructed and renovated, and the museum would be temporarily moved to Building 22.
Lichtenberg (locality)
Lichtenberg is a locality of Berlin in the homonymous district of Lichtenberg. Until 2001 it was an autonomous district with the localities of Fennpfuhl, Rummelsburg, Friedrichsfelde and Karlshorst.- History :...
of Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, in the former headquarters of the Stasi
Stasi
The Ministry for State Security The Ministry for State Security The Ministry for State Security (German: Ministerium für Staatssicherheit (MfS), commonly known as the Stasi (abbreviation , literally State Security), was the official state security service of East Germany. The MfS was headquartered...
(officially the Ministerium für Staatssicherheit), on Ruschestraße, near Frankfurter Allee
Frankfurter Allee
The Frankfurter Allee is one of the oldest roads of Berlin, the capital city of Germany. It extends the Karl-Marx-Allee from Frankfurter Tor in the direction of the city of Frankfurt . It is part of Bundesstraße 1 and has a length of ....
and U-Bahn station Magdalenenstraße
Magdalenenstraße (Berlin U-Bahn)
Magdalenenstraße is a Berlin U-Bahn station located on the .it was opened in 1930 and build by Alfred Grenander. Closed a few months in 1945 it has been renovated in 2004-5. Now green panels are on the walls and the columns are painted green, too. Artworks of east German artist are seen on the...
. The centrepiece of the exhibition is the office and working quarters of the former Minister of State Security – i.e. head of the Stasi – Erich Mielke
Erich Mielke
Erich Fritz Emil Mielke was a German communist politician and Minister of State Security—and as such head of the Stasi —of the German Democratic Republic between 1957 and 1989. Mielke spent more than a decade as an operative of the NKVD during the rule of Joseph Stalin...
. The museum is operated by the Antistalinistische Aktion Berlin-Normannenstraße (ASTAK), which was founded by civil rights activists in Berlin in 1990. It aims to foster the development of the museum as a "centre for the collection, preservation, documentation, rehabilitation and exhibition of evidence and research materials relating to East Germany".
In 2010 the German government announced its intention to take over the Stasi Museum, which led to a three-way dispute between ASTAK, local government in Lichtenberg, and the German national government over the future of the site. ASTAK subsequently announced that Building 1 of the Stasi headquarters, the museum's original location, would be reconstructed and renovated, and the museum would be temporarily moved to Building 22.