Rosewood File Reveals E. German Spy Network

About two years ago, the German government finally reached agreement with the CIA on returning a list of hundreds of former (Stasi) East German secret agents known as the "Rosewood Files." Since that time, the files containing 381 CD-ROM's worth of encrypted data have underwent analysis and are revealing that universities, national sports, and civil service agencies had many more East German spies on their payrolls than previously believed. German authorities now want to publicize the names of those former spies who continued to work in their jobs after the fall of East Germany.

From The Scotsman:

The file was acquired by CIA spies in the heady days after the Berlin Wall fell as the Stasi's paper shredders worked overtime to destroy 90% of the records detailing its activities over four decades.

The file was kept by Washington until 2003. Now being decrypted, it is highlighting the security gaps which enabled the communists to spy with ease on the capitalist enemy on a scale hitherto unimagined.

The Rosewood file is something of a holy grail in the world of international espionage. Under the aegis of the Stasi archive, named the Birthler Behoerde after its director Marianne Birthler, a research group is concluding work on what experts believe is the definitive source on East Germany's infamous secret police.

Helmut Mueller-Enbergs, in charge of decoding the nicknames of spies and details of their work contained on Rosewood, revealed that in the late 1980s up to 18 agents with the Stasi's centre for foreign espionage were active in the West German Foreign Ministry.

West German universities were also infiltrated with informers more densely than previously believed, with 43 spies operating at Berlin's Free University, and another 12 at the Technical University. As well as containing names of West Germans working for the Stasi, the report also lists some 20,000 to 30,000 East Germans working unofficially as Stasi informers in the 40 years until the fall of the Berlin Wall.

It needs to be mentioned that the Stasi was a murderous and treacherous state police agency that managed spy networks both inside and outside of East Germany. They wielded absolute power over the citizens of East Germany no different than was exhibited by the state police in the Soviet Union. Through threat of harm, the Stasi forced citizens to spy on their families, their friends, and their neighbors.

There will be attempts to suppress the release of the Rosewood information since it will be embarrassing and potentially devastating to at least a few prominent individuals. One high-profile name that surfaced in 2002 as a collaborator with the Stasi was Olympic gold medalist Katarina Witt.

It needs to be emphasized that the Stasi was a communist state police agency that committed a multitude of crimes. The key people and leadership of the organization should be held accountable. Unfortunately, neither the Rosewood Files nor the fact that many of the Stasi criminal network are still walking around have been given much exposure by the media.

There's more at the link.