ŻYCIE NA PODSŁUCHU. OCENA TREŚCI FILMU W ŚWIETLE PRAKTYKI DZIAŁANIA MINISTERSTWA BEZPIECZEŃSTWA PAŃSTWOWEGO NRD. GŁOS W DYSKUSJI
THE LIVES OF OTHERS: AN OVERVIEW OF THE FILM IN THE LIGHT OF THE OPERATING PRACTICES OF THE MINISTRY OF STATE SECURITY OF THE GDR. A VOICE IN THE DISCUSSION

Summary/Abstract: The article presents an analysis of the film The Lives of Others which assesses it accuracy in depictingthe methods utilized by the Ministry of State Security of the GDR. It was undertaken in the contextof the persistent post-2022 criticism of the production. My considerations are not limited to the his-torical plausibility of the main story arc, but also the depictions of the security officers’ professionalethics, their conduct, the jargon they use, and the equipment they were shown using. The analysis wassupplemented with the results archival research on the functioning of the GDR as a state and morespecifically — its security apparatus. The primary conclusion is that the depictions of the professionalethos and conduct of the officers was mostly accurate, at least as long as depicting these elements didnot distort the coherence of the narrative. What is more, the main story arc is found to be reasonablyplausible, as is the case with the vivid portrayal of the climate of fear and surveillance by the secretservice, which was prevalent in the GDR.

• Details
• Contents