Stasi Records Act
| Basic data | |
|---|---|
| Title: | Law on the records of the State Security Service of the former German Democratic Republic |
| Short title: | Stasi Records Act |
| Abbreviation: | StUG |
| Type: | Federal law |
| Scope: | Federal Republic of Germany |
| Legal matter: | Administrative law |
| References : | 252-1 |
| Original version from: | December 20, 1991 ( BGBl. I p. 2272 ) |
| Entry into force on: | December 29, 1991 |
| New announcement from: | February 18, 2007 ( Federal Law Gazette I p. 162 ) |
| Last change by: |
Art. 164 VO of June 19, 2020 ( Federal Law Gazette I p. 1328, 1347 ) |
| Effective date of the last change: |
June 27, 2020 (Art. 361 of June 19, 2020) |
| Weblink: | Full text of the StUG |
| Please note the note on the applicable legal version. | |
The Stasi Records Act (StUG) was passed by the German Bundestag on November 14, 1991 . It regulates the collection, development, administration and use of the files of the Ministry for State Security and its predecessor and successor organizations (State Security Service) of the former German Democratic Republic , which are located in public bodies of the federal or state governments, natural persons or other non-public bodies are located.
application
The Stasi Records Act is the legal basis for access to records and defines the various conditions for their use. This law is the basis for all activities of the authority of the federal commissioner for the Stasi files . For example, it also stipulates that the documents should be managed according to archival principles.
The Stasi Records Act is a special law. It became necessary because the Federal Archives Act would not have allowed the Stasi documents to be used immediately due to the 30-year blocking period and the large amount of personal data. That is why the Stasi Records Act must adequately take personal rights and data protection into account and weigh them against the interest in processing. This is done, for example, by making certain personal data anonymous when viewing files. For example, when viewing their own files, the person concerned only sees information about themselves, but no personal or intimate information about their parents or friends, which could also be mentioned in the file.
Reference is also made to this law in order to determine the group of people whose employment in the public service appears unacceptable and who in principle may not be appointed to the civil service. The amendment to the law of November 15, 2019 allows the necessary reviews of the persons concerned (extended) until December 31, 2030.
history
The documents were seized on the initiative of the citizens' movement in the course of the peaceful revolution of 1989 (partly in a shredded or disordered condition) and then administered and processed by the Federal Government Commissioner for the documents of the State Security Service of the former GDR .
In 1990 the People's Chamber formed a special committee to control the dissolution of the Ministry for State Security ( MfS ) / Office for National Security ( AfNS ) and elected Joachim Gauck as its head. Gauck became one of the initiators of the People's Chamber's Stasi Records Act . On October 2, 1990, the last day of the existence of the GDR, the member of the Alliance 90 list, Joachim Gauck, was elected by the People's Chamber as special commissioner for the personal documents of the former State Security Service of the GDR and the day after by Federal President Richard von Weizsäcker and Federal Chancellor Helmut Kohl was confirmed in this function as special commissioner of the federal government for the personal documents of the former state security service .
On December 29, 1991, the Stasi Records Act came into force. Four days later, on January 2, 1992, the files began to be inspected by citizens, scientists and the media.
As a result of the Stasi Records Act, the name of the office changed. Gauck was henceforth Federal Commissioner for the records of the State Security Service of the former German Democratic Republic . The authority is often colloquially referred to as the “Gauck authority” (due to its bulky official title).
Gauck's first term lasted until 1995; he was confirmed in office for another five years. Since this office can only be held by the same holder for two terms by law, Gauck could not be re-elected in 2000.
In September 2000 Marianne Birthler was appointed as his successor in this office. In March 2011, the journalist Roland Jahn took over the office of the Federal Commissioner, who advocated that at the end of 2011 a change in the law introduced an employment ban for former Stasi employees in the Stasi records authority and that previously employees should be transferred to other federal authorities.
State representative
According to Section 38 of the StUG, the states of Berlin, Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia can set up state commissioners for the records of the state security service of the former German Democratic Republic.
All the federal states concerned took advantage of this opportunity, most recently Brandenburg in 2009:
- Berlin representative for coming to terms with the SED dictatorship ; The incumbent is Tom Sello
- The representative of the state of Brandenburg to deal with the consequences of the communist dictatorship ; The incumbent is Maria Nooke
- The state commissioner for Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania for coming to terms with the SED dictatorship ; The incumbent is Anne Drescher
- Saxon state commissioner for coming to terms with the SED dictatorship ; The incumbent is Lutz Rathenow
- The representative of the state of Saxony-Anhalt to come to terms with the SED dictatorship ; The incumbent is Birgit Neumann-Becker
- State Commissioner of the Free State of Thuringia to come to terms with the SED dictatorship ; The incumbent is Peter Wurschi
literature
- Engel, Albert: The legal processing of the Stasi documents on the basis of the StUG. Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1995 (publications on public law; 682), ISBN 3-428-08388-1 .
- Hansjörg Geiger : Stasi records law with explanations for the practice / Hansjörg Geiger, Heinz Klinghardt. Deutscher Gemeinde-Verlag, Cologne 1993, ISBN 3-555-00952-4 .
- Annina Pollaczek : Freedom of the press and personal rights . Using the example of the Stasi Records Act . VDM Verlag Dr Müller , Saarbrücken 2007, ISBN 978-3-8364-0788-5 .
- Johannes Weberling : Stasi Records Act. Comment . Carl Heymanns, Cologne, Berlin, Bonn, Munich 1993, ISBN 3-452-22515-1 .
- Stasi Records Act, explained by Klaus Stoltenberg [as of October 1999], Nomos-Verl.-Ges., Baden-Baden 2000, (Das Deutsche Bundesrecht), ISBN 3-7890-6796-2 .
- Beleites, Johannes: Jumped too short with loud thunder. The 8th amendment to the Stasi Records Act. In: Germany archive 11 + 12 (2011)
Web links
- Text of the law
- BT-Drs. 12/1540 of November 12, 1991 recommendation for a resolution and report of the Bundestag Interior Committee on the draft law on the StUG (pdf; 2.65 MB)
- Johannes Beleites: Commentary on the 7th amendment to the Stasi Records Act of December 21, 2006 , Germany Archives, Issue 1/2007, pp. 5-8
- Details of the file inspection regulations for private individuals, agencies / authorities and researchers / media
Individual evidence
- ↑ Printed matter 729/91 of November 29, 1991 (PDF; 1.4 MB)
- ↑ before 1950: among other things the main administration for the protection of the national economy ; from November 17, 1989 Office for National Security
- ^ The request for inspection of files for private individuals. Retrieved May 7, 2019 .
- ↑ z. B. Section 4 (1) No. 2 SächsBG refers to the group of people in Section 20 (1) No. 6 letters c to e and h StUG, insofar as they worked for the former Ministry for State Security or the Office for National Security
- ↑ 10th People's Chamber: 9th session / conference on May 31, 1990 ( Memento from February 12, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ History of the BStU: Chronology of the Stasi Records Act (StUG) , accessed on December 7, 2016.
- ^ The resolutions of the Bundestag on September 29 and 30. Retrieved September 30, 2011
- ↑ Berlin representative for coming to terms with the SED dictatorship. Retrieved May 9, 2018 .
- ^ The representative of the state of Brandenburg to come to terms with the consequences of the communist dictatorship. Retrieved May 9, 2018 .
- ↑ State representative for Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania for coming to terms with the SED dictatorship. Retrieved April 2, 2020 .
- ↑ Saxon state representative for coming to terms with the SED dictatorship. Retrieved May 9, 2018 .
- ^ The commissioner of the state of Saxony-Anhalt to come to terms with the SED dictatorship. Retrieved May 9, 2018 .
- ^ State representative of the Free State of Thuringia to come to terms with the SED dictatorship. Retrieved May 9, 2018 .
