The Firm: The Inside Story of the Stasi (Oxford Oral History Series) Illustrated Edition

by Gary Bruce (Author)

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ISBN-13: 978-0199896578

ISBN-10: 0199896577

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Based on previously classified documents and on interviews with former secret police officers and ordinary citizens, The Firm is the first comprehensive history of East Germany's secret police, the Stasi, at the grassroots level.

Focusing on Gransee and Perleberg, two East German districts located north of Berlin, Gary Bruce reveals how the Stasi monitored small-town East Germany. He paints an eminently human portrait of those involved with this repressive arm of the government, featuring interviews with former officers that
uncover a wide array of personalities, from devoted ideologues to reluctant opportunists, most of whom talked frankly about East Germany's obsession with surveillance. Their paths after the collapse of Communism are gripping stories of resurrection and despair, of renewal and demise, of remorse and
continued adherence to the movement. The book also sheds much light on the role of the informant, the Stasi's most important tool in these out-of-the-way areas.

Providing on-the-ground empirical evidence of how the Stasi operated on a day-to-day basis with ordinary people, this remarkable volume offers an unparalleled picture of life in a totalitarian state.

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Editorial Reviews

Review

"The Firm is notable for its high level of knowledge of German research and excellent
source material. Gary Bruce's book is one of the finest English-language works on
the subject, offering an astute analysis of the Communist repressive apparatus in the
post-Stalin era."--The Journal of Cold War Studies

"Gary Bruce's The Firm: The Inside Story of the Stasi is a well-written look inside the Ministry for State Security of East Germany. Combining archival research with extensive interviews, The Firm focuses in particular on two Stasi district offices, in Perleberg and in Gransee, north of
Berlin."--Central European History

"This is an outstanding new study of the former Communist East German secret police...[A] remarkable work."--The Military Advisor

"Brilliantly written and deeply researched, this is the best book in any language on East Germany's Stasi. To cut through the myths and recreate the grassroots workings of the secret police, the author plowed through the archives and used oral interviews. We not only get inside 'the firm,' but learn
how it operated and its social impact. This is an accessible history from a consummate professional and it deserves a broad audience."--Robert Gellately, author of Lenin, Stalin, and Hitler: The Age of Social Catastrophe

"Gary Bruce's fascinating book is a major contribution to the enormous literature on the Stasi, providing a detailed study of how the Stasi operated at the local level to enforce communist rule. Bruce convincingly shows that the Stasi was sophisticated in its repression, relying on pervasive
surveillance, psychological pressure, physical coercion, imprisonment, and blackmail to keep the population under control. Tracing the functions of the Stasi district organs from beginning to end, Bruce not only enriches the historiography on the Stasi but also touches on larger questions about the
nature of the East German state. His book is an excellent complement to the best German works on this topic."--Mark Kramer, Director of the Harvard Project for Cold War Studies

"This is surely the most detailed micro-analysis of the East German security service recently added to the existing flood of material on the subject...in a rare step, [Bruce] actually interviews a number of former Stasi staff, weaving from his conversations telling portraits of 14 of them."--Foreign
Affairs

"This brilliant, thoroughly researched, and highly readable account enables readers to better understand how the Stasi operated in everyday life and how its inescapable presence affected citizens."--CHOICE

About the Author

Gary Bruce is Associate Professor of History at the University of Waterloo and author of Resistance with the People: Repression and Resistance in Eastern Germany, 1945-1955.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Oxford University Press; Illustrated edition (August 1, 2012)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 272 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0199896577
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0199896578
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 13.5 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 9.2 x 0.6 x 6.1 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #628,023 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1,067 in European History (Books)
- #2,336 in German History (Books)
- #4,525 in Great Britain History (Books)

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Top reviews from the United States

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Fred Pickler

Big Brother in his finest form. Don't know why the people tolerated another ...

Reviewed in the United States on June 12, 2015

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Wow! Big Brother in his finest form. Don't know why the people tolerated another almost Gestapo regime so soon after the WW II
Again,l was stationed in Berlin 1960-1962 and even I was surprised to learn the depth of their activity in both the East and the West. And I had direct unpleasant contacts on several occasions with the former MFS in East Berlin after the wall went up in 61.

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RS2012

Great book! Very interesting view of the Stasi from ...

Reviewed in the United States on July 7, 2014

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Great book! Very interesting view of the Stasi from the local level. From what I can tell, the District would be the equivalent to the County here in the US, although I can't fathom my Sheriff having the powers or resources to disrupt lives that the Stasi District Commanders did!!

4 people found this helpful

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amayahk

Very interesting read

Reviewed in the United States on October 24, 2020

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Not necessarily what I was expecting, but a very interesting look into the lives of the people who lived under the Stasi in East Germany.

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Zbigniew TRUSZCZYNSKI

A detailed work on the topic. Gary Bruce got to it's very bottom

Reviewed in the United States on July 31, 2013

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A detailed work on the topic. Gary Bruce got to it's very bottom.
This is an essetial work that shows the most sophisticated state security police in Cold War Era. Gary Bruce visited not only archives with endless data but managed to interview both victims, Stasi officers and civilian crew of Stasi.
This book gives general information about GDR and Stasi, but mostly shows in details a case studies conducted by Stasi.
This book could be a base for an interesting film comparable to "The lives of the others".
I strongly recommend this book.

5 people found this helpful

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Herr Lyppe

Misleading title.....

Reviewed in the United States on April 16, 2014

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This book revolves around evidence derived from 'surviving' Stasi documents from two small towns. It felt more reflective of regional experiences rather than any great insight into the Stasi as it existed as a state wide organization. Maintaining a value in it's own right it's worth the read, but there are far more insightful and less repetitious books on the subject available.

5 people found this helpful

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Lindsay Smith

Fascinating Insight.....

Reviewed in the United States on November 6, 2013

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Well researched, and detailed but sometimes perhaps a little dense.
Still the best book on the subject concerned.

Definitely a good read for followers of German history of that time.

One person found this helpful

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Jim M.

Right now, the best book on the Stasi

Reviewed in the United States on October 27, 2012

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This book is as good as John O Koehler's book is bad. Unlike Koehler, Bruce presents an unbiased description of Stasi procedures and organization structure without adding unnecessary editorializing. Bruce wisely restricts his research to two districts near Berlin. By doing so, he creates not only an intimate portrait of life in the Stasi, but also a good representation of what went on at the top levels. If you have any interest in the subject, this is the book to read.

4 people found this helpful

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Gordo

The Firm is Firm!

Reviewed in the United States on March 2, 2012

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This is a very good read. It combines academic detail with a casual reading style. It's fun to read and you learn something at the same time. "The Firm" provides a deep insight into the Stasi. I highly recommend it for individuals who would like to understand how the state can control lives.

4 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

G C W S Wheeler

Internal culture of the Stasi studied through interviews with ex-staff

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 13, 2016

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This is mainly a study of the internal culture of the Stasi in two districts, based on a series of interviews with ex Stasi staff. The book gives a good impression of what it was like to work for them, and what their working methods were like. The subject is unavoidably a bit dry - this is not a place to look for stories about people escaping over the wire in Berlin, since the Stasi seem to have been very much a bureaucracy. One limitation is that the author found that Stasi very rarely transferred between districts, leaving the possibility that the working culture might be somewhat different in other areas. Definitely worth a look if you have any interest in how a stable authoritarian state works.

2 people found this helpful

Benjamin

Five Stars

Reviewed in Canada on November 14, 2014

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easy read ..great facts

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