Officer on special duty

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Special duty officers , also abbreviated to OibE , have been full-time employees of the Ministry for State Security of the GDR (MfS) in the areas of defense and reconnaissance since the 1960s , most of whom were in positions in the state apparatus that could be used for international reconnaissance or were considered to be security-relevant (e Foreign and Foreign Trade Ministry, apparatus of the Council of Ministers, Ministry of the Interior), in institutions, companies (e.g. foreign trade companies ) and organizations.

The employment relationship

The largest part of the OibE that has become known through published lists is to be assigned to the HVA (this also includes the OibE of Dept. XI - ciphers - and Dept. N - radio operators - who were subordinate to the residents of the HVA during their foreign assignments). Their number is estimated at around 3000. The employment relationship was fully respect in the form of double employment legendiert . Every OibE was aware that the actual employer remained the MfS, while the official function only served to cover operational work. Conflicts of Interest e.g. B. with the supervisor in the official function and his expectations of official work results were therefore the order of the day, as well as internal conflicts at the OiBE itself if the covering activity was interesting and associated with publicly recognized prestige, e.g. B. in the diplomatic service. In addition to the regular salary from their official coverage, which had to be proven to the commanding officer, officers in special operations received a salary compensation from their MfS office, so that in total a salary was paid that corresponded to their rank and their position in the MfS. Overpayments beyond this salary were not permitted, contrary to publications on this issue to the contrary. In any case, the MfS salary was in any case higher than the salary in the cover function, even if this was associated with managerial or responsible activity. It did happen that the actual rank of the employee did not correspond to that of the legendary position (as far as such a comparison is possible, e.g. when comparing the diplomatic rank or another civilian official covering function with the military rank or position). Nevertheless, the MfS content was always higher in such cases.

The term

The term and affiliation as OibE was largely unknown in the GDR until the turn of 1989 . As early as 1965 it was stated in a basic document of the Stasi “ that members of the Ministry for State Security are deployed in important positions in the organs of the state, the economy, in social organizations and institutions of the German Democratic Republic for internal and external defense. These members of the Ministry for State Security are listed under the designation 'officers on special operations' ”. The work with the OibE was regulated in the OibE regulation of March 17, 1986.

Well-known OibEs

One of the most prominent OibE that has become known was the foreign exchange procurer Colonel Alexander Schalck-Golodkowski as State Secretary, Deputy Minister and Head of Commercial Coordination in the Ministry of Foreign Trade. On the other hand, this case was atypical for normal practice, as was that of State Secretary Harry Möbis , who, as Head of Inspection at the Council of Ministers, headed an area which, as a covered functional body of the MfS, was largely known to outsiders. The official security officers in ministries and companies (mostly OibE) who worked for the MfS were subordinate to him. Usually, the MfS avoided installing OibE in exposed official functions that were associated with a high level of responsibility and direct accountability to the responsible party and state organs, and placed them at subordinate levels.

The former soccer referee Adolf Prokop also acted as an officer in the special deployment of the Ministry for State Security .

literature

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Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Principles for the regulation of the employment relationship and the work with the "officers in special deployment" active in the field of defense of the Ministry for State Security of March 1, 1965, BStU, ZA DSt 102131, p. 3.