More than an intelligence service: the Stasi as a secret police force
The Stasi had a very broad remit and performed the tasks not only of a domestic and foreign intelligence service but also of a secret police force. The police powers with which it was conferred – surveillance, investigation, search and arrest – were exercised by its Department VIII (HA VIII).
The operations of Department VIII were directed primarily against what was known as the “political underground”, a disparate collection of groupings opposed to the DDR government, and which the Stasi considered to be a threat to SED rule. In Stasi jargon, this milieu consisted of anyone classified as exhibiting a “negative-hostile attitude towards the state”. People identified as having such an attitude were subject to serious measures of surveillance and control.
Enforcing loyalty to the state by any means: the Stasi saw itself as the shield and sword of the SED Emblem of the Stasi (source: Ministry for State Security of the DDR, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)
Using the chain nippers
Department VIII staff often performed arrests without any formal authority or arrest warrants. Prisoners could be kept in custody for anything between a number of hours and many months or even years in a Stasi remand centre. Stasi officers often used chain nippers – sometimes called a leader chain – during both arrests and interrogations in order to control prisoners.
The chain nippers were a 35 cm metal chain made of twisted links, similar to those used by regular police forces in the 1950s and 1960s. Once it had been wrapped around the prisoner’s wrist, it was locked using the T-shaped handles. The tight fit of the chain meant that very little effort was required to inflict considerable pain. Chain nippers were a subtle instrument with a powerful effect.
Property information
Designation
- Date 1970s/80s
- Gallery The two Germanies
- Category Weapons
- Origin Germany
- Dimensions 35 x 8.5 x 0.5 cm (WxHxD)
- Material metal
Property information
Designation
- Datierung 1970s/80s
- Epochenraum The two Germanies
- Kategorie Weapons
- Herkunft Germany
- Dimensionen 35 x 8.5 x 0.5 cm (WxHxD)
- Material metal
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Lifesaver? The German Steel Helmet in the First World War
German Tank Museum Munster
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