Suppression of Free Speech in East Germany
The Stasi spied on you before Obama made it cool.
From 1961 to 1990, Germany was split into two states by the Berlin Wall. The eastern half of Germany, known as the German Democratic Republic, was governed by the Stasi, a brutal secret police force. The Stasi were meticulous at gathering information and keeping files on individuals they considered subversive, which in GDR, was just about everyone. Speaking out against the regime or discussing the Berlin Wall was strictly forbidden in GDR and censorship of information was strictly enforced by the state. If you were suspected of questioning the tenets of communism, then you would be imprisoned and tortured by the Stasi as a political prisoner. Other topics that were similarly forbidden to discuss in GDR included capitalism, fascism, pollution, the standard of living, education, homosexuality, pornography, alcoholism, and depression. Art that was not approved by the state was also banned.
The split of Germany into two halves is significant because it acts as a natural experiment to show what happens when two previously identical nations adopt radically different policies. Under the capitalist-leaning west, the country prospered, whereas in the socialist East, a concrete wall was built to prevent people from fleeing. Proponents of collectivism never cease to argue how capitalism is tyrannical and oppressive, but if you compare the freedom of speech in GDR to the Federal Republic of Germany, it is the socialist state that is more oppressive. It is common among most socialist countries that freedom of speech is curtailed to some extent in order to maintain the illusion of homogenous public support. One would be hard-pressed to argue how capitalism is more oppressive since freedom of speech and of the press is usually taken for granted in open societies. Unfortunately, we will never know the true cost that censorship had in GDR since great works of art that did not fit the vision of the state were hidden, destroyed, or were simply never created.
