‘Das leben der anderen’ and the cult of Feliks Dzierzynsky

• Autor: Marc Cools

Cools, ‘Das leben der anderen’ and the cult of Feliks Dzierzynsky 1

‘Das leben der anderen’ and the cult of Feliks Dzierzynsky*

Por Marc Cools

Wir, Mitarbeiter des Ministeriums für Staatssicherheit, sind jederzeit bereit,

die Deutsche Demokratische Republik, in der die unsterblichen Ideen von Marx, Engels

und Lenin revolutionäre Wirklichkeit wurden, mit unseren ganzen Person,

bis zum Einsatz des eigenen Lebens, entschlossen zu verteidigen.

Gelöbnis der Mitarbeiter des Ministeriums für Staatssicherheit

der Deutsche Demokratische Republik.

ABSTR ACT

Narrative knowledge is highly important for intelligence scholars and practitioners

and cannot be left aside. The German movie ‘Das Leben der Anderen’ or ‘The

Lives of Others’ by movie director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck is a brilliantly

visualized, realistic but romantic introduction into the daily life of citizens and the

organization, tasks and corporate culture of the former ‘Ministerium für Staatssi-

cherheit’, ‘MfS’ or ‘Stasi’ in the ‘Deutsche Demokratische Republik’ or German

Democratic Republic, ‘GDR’. Highlighting the (cult) figure of Feliks Dzierzynsky is

used to bring a historical note on his importance towards the Soviet Union and

East German intelligence community. In reviewing the structure of the ‘Stasi’ we

argue the functioning of an intelligence organization without any form of oversight

tends to become a totalitarian and arbitrary institution. The disappearance of the

‘Stasi’ and the cult of Feliks Dzierzynsky can be studied and researched as an evil

narrative example within the history of the intelligence agencies.

1. Berlin, so lost and back again

Lou Reed once sang ‘in Berlin, by the Wall’. This totalitarian wall, built on 13th

August 1963, became the Cold War symbol ‘par excellence’. During his first visit to

Berlin, Ronald Reagan said ‘we have got to find a way to knock this thing down’. La-

ter he would utter the historic words ‘Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall’. Going to

this city is a fascinating experience for scholars and practitioners who are interested

in the history and functioning of state intelligence and or state security agencies.

Over there Frederic the Great invented the so called rational nation-state with his

punctual civil servants. Prussia would become the scholar example for 19th century

state building. In order to unify all the German prince and kingdoms including the no-

ble ‘Junkers’, he and his successors were willing to destroy the so rational Prussia for

the wellbeing of the later German Empire or ‘Reich’. The imperial, the national-

socialist and the socialist (East) Germany became 20th century nation-state realities,

which were at the core of the destruction of so many totally depersonalized human

beings and souls.

* Extraído del artículo publicado en la revista electrónica “Archivos de Criminología, Criminalís-

tica y Seguridad Privada”, México, editada por la Sociedad Mexicana de Criminología Capítulo Nuevo

León A.C. (www.somecrimnl.es.tl). Bibliografía recomendada.