Hubertus Knabe: The dark secrets of a surveillance state

Tour the deep dark world of the East German state security agency known as Stasi. Uniquely powerful at spying on its citizens, until the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 the Stasi masterminded a system of surveillance and psychological pressure that kept the country under control for decades. Hubertus Knabe studies the Stasi — and was spied on by them. He shares stunning details from the fall of a surveillance state, and shows how easy it was for neighbor to turn on neighbor.

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[rpfs]

I don't think people feeling secure despite being monitored is a good sign. Quite the opposite.

[mnasera]

I am so familiar with the Stasi methods! I am so used to how these are applied! Yet I never lived in East Germany! I thank Herr Knabe for saying what I want to say.

[xanderful]

The woman at 10:38 said when she read her file, she found her husband had been asked to report what kind of beauty soap she used. She was very hurt to find her husband had been a willing informant. Sadly, this is happening now in the U.S. The Zersetzung directive has been adopted by many countries because the Stasi trademarked it & sold it on the black market to other nations.

[Noname-sek]

I’ve gone through this in the US. It’s debilitating and causes mental illness

[helenjohnson]

We now spy on each other-through social media. Oh, the irony 🤦🏼‍♀️

[AndrewKNI]

There is a fascinating new book (2021) about the Stasi called 'The Grey Men - Pursuing the Stasi Into The Present' by Ralph Hope. Herr Knabe is mentioned in the book, and covers some of his recollection in his TED talk. Hard to believe this was only 30 years ago.

[GlamorousTitanic]

It honestly saddens me that some people who lived during that time still say that life was better when the knowledge of the scope and scale of these kinds of activities are openly known today.
And at the same time, those who carried out this Orwellian nightmare still continue to claim that they did nothing wrong.

[batchout]

NSA + CIA + FBI + SWAT comes near to equaling Stasi. THE MOST IMPORTANT VIDEO I'VE SEEN THIS YEAR.

[alchemist]

I wonder how many people at this very moment are being subjected to the "degradation" methods of control. I'm sure the powers that be love this kind of technique.

[mbzcs]

100% certain this is still going on, even on a more massive scale.

[srimansrini]

This wonderful talk, which brings out the truth about East Germany's dirty past, contains several valid lessons to so many people, institutions and nations across the globe. I hope the FBI and CIA in America is watching and understand the importance of 'poking nose problem." Likewise, communists in India should understand why communism is not required in India or for China. Very insightful, informative and useful talk by Hubertus Knabe. Highly recommened.

[jeffweiss]

This is the most recent historical reference point for what is now presently experienced and called, "gang stalking"...

[dissolvingreality]

Except it didn't actually end, I am a victim of this the same tactics used in Zerzetsung . And now in 2020 with the advancement of technilogical and electronic weaponary it's much much worse now

[tom_bout]

The same symptoms of gang stalking .... Hmmm

[renzokata]

Our country here in the U.S. would rather tell its Nuclear secrets than admit how they use Zerzetsung on thier own people.

[philippsuffa]

3:38 Sorry to interrupt, but this number is simply wrong. These were only the official employees of the Stasi. In total they had about 240.000 men and women working for them by 1989. The missing 150.000 people were the so called "IM" or "Inoffizielle Mitarbeiter" what you can translate to inofficial employees. They had their normal jobs and worked for the Stasi for example by spying on their wifes, husbands, children or neighbours.

[bladedaemon]

Good thing nothing like the S.T.A.S.I. exists anymore...oh...wait..!!

[markswift]

Didn't the former head of the Stasi help setup Homeland Security (Stasi 2.0)?

[fraser_mr]

I made this channel to show that this is still happening

[MisterF_]

This was a nice change from the quite often over-hyped talks in the US.