Bundesarchiv-Stasi-Unterlagen-Archiv Erfurt

The Stasi Records Archive (until June 17, 2021 the Federal Commissioner for the Records of the State Security Service of the former German Democratic Republic –GDR) is responsible for the preservation, management and accessibility of the records of the East German Ministry for State Security (1950 – 1989), its predecessor, the political police K5, and successor, the Office for National Security of the GDR. The Archive‘s holdings also include documents ceded to the Ministry for State Security, colloquially known as Stasi, by the line of activity K1 within the criminal police, as well as East German courts and prosecutors‘ offices. The Stasi Records Archive Erfurt is responsible for the files of the Regional Unit for State Security (Bezirksverwaltung für Staatssicherheit) Erfurt.  

The records of the Regional Unit (Bezirksverwaltung) Erfurt together with those of the district offices (Kreisdienststellen) Apolda, Arnstadt, Bad Langensalza, Eisenach, Erfurt, Gotha, Heiligenstadt, Mühlhausen, Nordhausen, Sömmerda, Sondershausen, Weimar und Worbis comprise about 4,500 linear metres of paper files as well as approx. 53,500 photographs, 21 films, 8 videos, 696 audio recordings and 671 maps. 

Access and usage of archival materials is regulated by the Stasi Records Act (Stasi-Unterlagen-Gesetz – StUG).