1
00:00:30,360 --> 00:00:35,720
From the ruins risen newly

2
00:00:35,800 --> 00:00:40,920
To the future turned, we stand

3
00:00:41,000 --> 00:00:45,720
Let us serve your good wealth truly

4
00:00:45,800 --> 00:00:51,600
Germany, our fatherland

5
00:00:51,680 --> 00:00:56,240
Triumph over bygone sorrow

6
00:00:56,320 --> 00:01:00,760
Can in unity be won

7
00:01:00,840 --> 00:01:05,880
For we shall attain a tomorrow

8
00:01:05,960 --> 00:01:10,480
When over our Germany

9
00:01:10,560 --> 00:01:15,000
There is a shining sun

10
00:01:15,080 --> 00:01:22,000
There is a shining sun

11
00:01:35,520 --> 00:01:42,000
Stasi go home! 

12
00:01:53,600 --> 00:01:58,280
We didn't think the GDR
would ever cease to exist.

13
00:02:05,200 --> 00:02:08,000
We didn't see it coming.

14
00:02:08,560 --> 00:02:10,480
I realized it was possible only later.

15
00:02:37,640 --> 00:02:39,360
The media tell us 

16
00:02:39,440 --> 00:02:44,200
the RAF murdered Rohwedder,
the head of the Treuhand.

17
00:02:45,960 --> 00:02:49,480
However, after considering
the execution, its presumed planning,

18
00:02:49,560 --> 00:02:52,560
and ideological background,
this assumption seems erroneous.

19
00:02:53,600 --> 00:02:56,120
On the other hand,
there are many indications

20
00:02:56,200 --> 00:02:58,960
that the assassinations
were planned and executed

21
00:02:59,040 --> 00:03:02,720
by the remnants of the East German
Ministry of State Security,

22
00:03:02,800 --> 00:03:06,200
known as the Stasi,
which was still operational at the time.

23
00:03:35,240 --> 00:03:37,720
In the Rohwedder case,
I see only one possibility:

24
00:03:38,200 --> 00:03:43,240
I see that this was carried out
by dissatisfied citizens

25
00:03:43,320 --> 00:03:46,000
of the former GDR.

26
00:03:46,080 --> 00:03:47,840
I am absolutely certain of that.

27
00:03:53,680 --> 00:03:58,560
These people must have had
excellent military training,

28
00:03:58,640 --> 00:04:01,880
including training necessary for a sniper.

29
00:04:12,560 --> 00:04:16,320
I see this as a revenge killing.

30
00:04:20,120 --> 00:04:22,400
Is this really possible
or highly unlikely?

31
00:04:22,480 --> 00:04:26,600
When it comes to the Stasi,
no evil is out of the question.

32
00:04:38,600 --> 00:04:40,200
GERMANY

33
00:04:43,840 --> 00:04:45,600
{\an8}A NETFLIX ORIGINAL DOCUMENTARY SERIES

34
00:04:47,400 --> 00:04:49,280
The German Reich!

35
00:04:49,800 --> 00:04:51,960
Nobody has any intention
of building a wall.

36
00:04:52,040 --> 00:04:54,680
West and East Germany, a divided nation.

37
00:04:54,760 --> 00:05:01,680
Unity and justice and freedom…

38
00:05:01,760 --> 00:05:02,760
Red Army Faction...

39
00:05:02,840 --> 00:05:05,560
Insane attacks by barbaric terrorists...

40
00:05:05,640 --> 00:05:08,320
{\an8}…Fatherland

41
00:05:08,960 --> 00:05:12,560
Risen from ruins…

42
00:05:12,640 --> 00:05:14,000
Tear down this wall!

43
00:05:14,680 --> 00:05:16,800
Our fatherland, reunited.

44
00:05:18,280 --> 00:05:25,080
{\an8}Flourish, German fatherland

45
00:05:29,040 --> 00:05:32,960
OCCUPIER

46
00:05:33,720 --> 00:05:36,200
Mr. Rohwedder has been killed.
What are your thoughts?

47
00:05:36,280 --> 00:05:38,760
Has he? That's news to me. 

48
00:05:40,040 --> 00:05:42,400
Haven't listened to the news today yet.

49
00:05:42,480 --> 00:05:43,760
-You haven't heard?
-No.

50
00:05:43,840 --> 00:05:46,360
He was the head of the Treuhand. Do you…?

51
00:05:46,440 --> 00:05:47,560
Oh, well…

52
00:05:47,640 --> 00:05:49,680
I guess they had their reasons.

53
00:05:50,600 --> 00:05:52,120
I can't blame them.

54
00:05:52,200 --> 00:05:55,920
If I had the chance,
I'd take out a few more.

55
00:05:56,000 --> 00:05:58,480
We've never been screwed like this before!

56
00:05:59,080 --> 00:06:02,240
I think the West German government
should have realized long ago

57
00:06:02,320 --> 00:06:04,520
that this is no way to run their politics.

58
00:06:04,600 --> 00:06:07,720
Perhaps this will make them realize
that the five new federal states

59
00:06:07,800 --> 00:06:09,600
are a bomb waiting to go off.

60
00:06:09,680 --> 00:06:12,880
Something was bound to happen.
Everyone could see that.

61
00:06:13,760 --> 00:06:20,200
I have my doubts that this
was really done by RAF terrorists,

62
00:06:20,760 --> 00:06:22,360
as they say in the news.

63
00:06:22,440 --> 00:06:26,680
I don't know, it could have been
some of the people from the Stasi.

64
00:06:29,800 --> 00:06:31,040
I am quite certain...

65
00:06:31,720 --> 00:06:36,520
that this was not just
some madman or politically…

66
00:06:39,360 --> 00:06:42,120
irresponsible people, like the RAF.

67
00:06:42,200 --> 00:06:46,160
I think the execution
of Detlev Karsten Rohwedder

68
00:06:46,240 --> 00:06:49,080
had economic reasons, 

69
00:06:49,160 --> 00:06:53,080
because of decisions he made,
measures he was responsible for.

70
00:06:55,720 --> 00:06:59,240
Berlin, city center. One office building
has the most important address

71
00:06:59,320 --> 00:07:03,480
for wealthy investors from the West
who want to invest in the GDR.

72
00:07:05,760 --> 00:07:08,560
We are in negotiations
regarding the buying of a company.

73
00:07:08,760 --> 00:07:09,960
What's going on?

74
00:07:10,040 --> 00:07:12,200
-We are buying a company.
-Which one?

75
00:07:12,280 --> 00:07:14,720
I don't have to tell you.
I don't want to tell you here.

76
00:07:14,800 --> 00:07:16,400
I'm just visiting.

77
00:07:16,480 --> 00:07:18,600
-What for?
-Just to see what's happening.

78
00:07:18,680 --> 00:07:22,240
-You wouldn't be here for no reason.
-Why not? I'm visiting old friends.

79
00:07:24,400 --> 00:07:27,840
I experienced the Treuhand
for myself and I watched…

80
00:07:29,240 --> 00:07:35,360
people queuing up in order
to get their hands on whichever company.

81
00:07:37,400 --> 00:07:39,880
Business people came over thinking,

82
00:07:39,960 --> 00:07:42,120
"Hey, what a bargain.

83
00:07:42,200 --> 00:07:45,760
I can buy a fully equipped company...

84
00:07:47,000 --> 00:07:48,000
for a euro."

85
00:07:49,520 --> 00:07:51,360
I'm exaggerating, 

86
00:07:51,440 --> 00:07:54,040
but the general impression was,

87
00:07:54,120 --> 00:07:55,600
"Here come the occupiers, 

88
00:07:56,200 --> 00:07:59,800
breaking up all sorts of companies…

89
00:08:01,280 --> 00:08:04,200
to sell them off for a quick profit."

90
00:08:06,440 --> 00:08:08,400
I don't know
what to call these people.

91
00:08:09,880 --> 00:08:14,480
They exploit things
wherever they find something to exploit.

92
00:08:17,440 --> 00:08:18,720
They invaded

93
00:08:19,320 --> 00:08:22,680
our little country like locusts.

94
00:08:23,520 --> 00:08:24,400
And…

95
00:08:25,360 --> 00:08:29,320
I would like to say that
they not only added to the chaos, 

96
00:08:29,400 --> 00:08:33,600
they also aggravated
the personal misery of people.

97
00:08:34,960 --> 00:08:37,040
And you couldn't help…

98
00:08:39,280 --> 00:08:40,200
thinking,

99
00:08:40,920 --> 00:08:44,520
"So you are supposed to be
our brothers and sisters?"

100
00:08:50,240 --> 00:08:53,520
At the moment, we are indeed in a phase 

101
00:08:53,600 --> 00:08:56,480
when companies, when the whole economy 

102
00:08:56,560 --> 00:08:59,760
needs to sweat out any remains
of socialism. We'll have to endure this.

103
00:08:59,840 --> 00:09:02,320
And the quicker we address this crisis,

104
00:09:02,400 --> 00:09:05,920
like a sick person,
the quicker we'll come out the other end.

105
00:09:08,320 --> 00:09:13,200
Detlev Karsten Rohwedder was the most
powerful German business tycoon

106
00:09:13,280 --> 00:09:14,560
of his era.

107
00:09:14,640 --> 00:09:19,280
I imagine that some people
did not like some of his decisions.

108
00:09:19,360 --> 00:09:21,080
It feels a little like the Wild West.

109
00:09:21,160 --> 00:09:25,240
Some people are quite brazen
when dealing with the Treuhand.

110
00:09:25,320 --> 00:09:27,800
This simply would be
impossible in West Germany.

111
00:09:27,880 --> 00:09:30,360
Of course, the privatization policies

112
00:09:30,800 --> 00:09:34,280
that the Treuhand implemented
so forcefully in our country

113
00:09:34,800 --> 00:09:37,280
are always both lauded and condemned.

114
00:09:37,360 --> 00:09:41,560
When I remember the spring of 1991,

115
00:09:42,080 --> 00:09:46,040
it seems that Rohwedder
was hated by everyone.

116
00:09:48,640 --> 00:09:53,440
And we did ask ourselves,
"Are we safe here?"

117
00:09:53,960 --> 00:09:57,480
We had received a few threats already.

118
00:09:58,200 --> 00:10:02,240
Staying at the Grand Hotel,

119
00:10:02,840 --> 00:10:05,120
we often took the opportunity

120
00:10:05,760 --> 00:10:10,600
to walk over in the morning
to the Treuhand building.

121
00:10:10,680 --> 00:10:14,000
Right across the street
was the so-called "House of Democracy."

122
00:10:14,080 --> 00:10:18,120
And he said,
"Look, if someone wanted to kill me,

123
00:10:18,200 --> 00:10:20,640
he could sit over there
and shoot me without being caught.

124
00:10:20,720 --> 00:10:25,480
We have no control over
who goes in and out of that building."

125
00:10:29,520 --> 00:10:30,360
So…

126
00:10:31,200 --> 00:10:32,160
Now we can…

127
00:10:47,160 --> 00:10:49,960
Mrs. Rohwedder always maintained

128
00:10:50,040 --> 00:10:54,320
in our telephone conversations
that the Stasi must have been behind it.

129
00:10:56,000 --> 00:11:00,800
Because their old networks were unhappy 

130
00:11:00,880 --> 00:11:03,680
with her husband dissolving the GDR.

131
00:11:06,360 --> 00:11:09,360
During his work, he had seen evidence

132
00:11:09,440 --> 00:11:11,960
indicating where
the Stasi might have hidden

133
00:11:12,040 --> 00:11:14,480
several hundred million
that had disappeared.

134
00:11:14,960 --> 00:11:20,120
And the Stasi was worried
he might find their hiding place.

135
00:11:22,240 --> 00:11:24,840
Here are several telexes 

136
00:11:26,880 --> 00:11:33,200
I sent to the State Criminal
Police Office, Security Department.

137
00:11:41,000 --> 00:11:42,840
"The evidence strongly suggests 

138
00:11:42,920 --> 00:11:47,200
that a new form of terrorism is emerging, 

139
00:11:47,280 --> 00:11:51,200
which greatly exceeds and dwarfs the RAF.

140
00:11:52,400 --> 00:11:55,240
Not only does it have
far more members than the RAF,

141
00:11:55,800 --> 00:11:59,440
the ex-Stasi members
are much more professional

142
00:12:00,000 --> 00:12:03,920
with regards to training,
communications, financial means,

143
00:12:04,000 --> 00:12:06,800
logistics, experience,
and inside knowledge.

144
00:12:06,880 --> 00:12:08,960
And they are resolutely determined. 

145
00:12:09,680 --> 00:12:12,520
The Chief Security Office
of Saxony-Anhalt,

146
00:12:12,600 --> 00:12:13,960
Klaus-Dieter Matschke…"

147
00:12:14,040 --> 00:12:17,000
Yes, I meant absolutely...

148
00:12:18,520 --> 00:12:20,120
what I said here.

149
00:12:21,240 --> 00:12:23,680
It would only have favored

150
00:12:23,760 --> 00:12:26,680
those who believed the sell-off, 

151
00:12:26,760 --> 00:12:30,880
the total dissolution of the country,

152
00:12:30,960 --> 00:12:33,640
could be stopped by killing this man.

153
00:12:35,440 --> 00:12:37,120
My name is Klaus-Dieter Matschke.

154
00:12:37,200 --> 00:12:39,400
I used to work
for the Federal Intelligence Service,

155
00:12:39,480 --> 00:12:43,440
later for the Federal Office
for the Protection of the Constitution.

156
00:12:43,920 --> 00:12:47,600
In that capacity,
I was moved to the former GDR...

157
00:12:48,360 --> 00:12:51,040
to investigate...

158
00:12:51,960 --> 00:12:55,680
who worked for the Stasi
before Reunification.

159
00:12:56,320 --> 00:12:59,480
What did they do? 

160
00:12:59,560 --> 00:13:03,280
It was my job to report all my findings 

161
00:13:03,360 --> 00:13:06,400
directly to the Prime Minister.

162
00:13:07,880 --> 00:13:10,080
I made contact 

163
00:13:10,160 --> 00:13:15,160
with former Stasi generals.

164
00:13:15,240 --> 00:13:17,160
We spent a lot of time together,

165
00:13:17,240 --> 00:13:20,760
including drinking together.

166
00:13:21,320 --> 00:13:26,000
If I needed more information on a subject,

167
00:13:26,080 --> 00:13:30,520
I just asked one of them
and he would give me an answer.

168
00:13:32,560 --> 00:13:35,960
I asked the generals
about the Rohwedder case,

169
00:13:36,040 --> 00:13:38,480
and they had come to the same conclusion:

170
00:13:39,080 --> 00:13:41,600
their own people were likely responsible.

171
00:13:53,400 --> 00:13:56,560
My name is Eberhard Böttcher.

172
00:13:56,640 --> 00:13:59,560
I used to work
for the Ministry of State Security.

173
00:13:59,800 --> 00:14:02,440
My last job was in Branch XXII,

174
00:14:02,520 --> 00:14:07,200
as Head of Department 1,
and my rank was Lieutenant Colonel.

175
00:14:09,000 --> 00:14:11,400
My sole reason for joining the Stasi

176
00:14:11,480 --> 00:14:14,800
was my commitment
to the prevention of another war.

177
00:14:15,440 --> 00:14:17,720
I experienced World War II firsthand.

178
00:14:19,200 --> 00:14:22,720
My hometown Plauen
was bombed and 80% destroyed.

179
00:14:22,800 --> 00:14:25,560
There was hardly a building left standing.

180
00:14:30,160 --> 00:14:34,360
I know what it means to fear
for your life while cowering in a cellar.

181
00:14:38,400 --> 00:14:41,720
This experience has stayed
with me and shaped who I am.

182
00:14:47,400 --> 00:14:49,040
No more war!

183
00:14:54,800 --> 00:14:56,840
GDR YOUTH GREET
THE YOUTH OF THE WORLD

184
00:14:56,920 --> 00:14:59,760
Friendship with our Russian brothers!

185
00:15:02,960 --> 00:15:08,440
The GDR was an anti-fascist state,
and that made it the better Germany.

186
00:15:12,040 --> 00:15:14,400
You have to remember 

187
00:15:15,400 --> 00:15:18,200
that any Nazi who was keen to get away,

188
00:15:19,200 --> 00:15:24,760
who did not want to be caught
and tried by the Russians, 

189
00:15:24,840 --> 00:15:27,000
made their way to the Western Zones.

190
00:15:27,520 --> 00:15:31,080
This led to the Western Zones

191
00:15:32,000 --> 00:15:35,840
being crowded with all types of Nazis.

192
00:15:38,680 --> 00:15:41,240
The same people 

193
00:15:42,320 --> 00:15:45,600
who had wanted to kill me too,
just a few years earlier...

194
00:15:47,280 --> 00:15:48,480
because I am Jewish.

195
00:15:51,680 --> 00:15:55,960
Consider this horrendous
period of our country's history,

196
00:15:56,040 --> 00:16:00,800
the Holocaust,
the devastation of World War II,

197
00:16:00,880 --> 00:16:06,360
the appalling injustice Germany brought
upon its European neighbors and the USSR.

198
00:16:06,440 --> 00:16:07,640
Bearing all this in mind, 

199
00:16:07,720 --> 00:16:11,840
we do not deserve
the great joy of reunification.

200
00:16:11,920 --> 00:16:15,400
Though not deserving it at all,
we have achieved it.

201
00:16:20,400 --> 00:16:22,080
From an economic perspective,

202
00:16:23,200 --> 00:16:25,120
the GDR was bound to collapse.

203
00:16:26,960 --> 00:16:30,000
But I did not expect this
regarding its concept of society.

204
00:16:33,240 --> 00:16:35,760
There was betrayal in our ranks as well.

205
00:16:36,400 --> 00:16:37,680
People submitted.

206
00:16:38,840 --> 00:16:42,040
{\an8}Some were just frightened.
They would have done anything…

207
00:16:42,120 --> 00:16:43,000
{\an8}out of fear.

208
00:16:46,240 --> 00:16:50,240
We had hoped that
socialism could reinvent itself.

209
00:16:50,960 --> 00:16:52,800
We waited for this to happen. 

210
00:16:54,080 --> 00:16:55,440
But what happened instead? 

211
00:16:55,520 --> 00:16:59,480
Total collapse,
as ordered by Gorbachev himself.

212
00:16:59,560 --> 00:17:04,440
Gorbi! Gorbi!

213
00:17:06,880 --> 00:17:10,080
The Soviet Union
was in deep economic trouble.

214
00:17:11,080 --> 00:17:14,680
In the summer of 1989,

215
00:17:15,400 --> 00:17:16,880
Helmut Kohl asked me...

216
00:17:18,000 --> 00:17:20,160
to give the Soviet Union,
and, therefore, Gorbachev,

217
00:17:20,240 --> 00:17:25,240
an untied loan of five billion marks.

218
00:17:25,920 --> 00:17:31,960
Gorbachev had extreme financial problems.

219
00:17:33,960 --> 00:17:38,040
Under normal circumstances,
I was only allowed to grant an untied loan

220
00:17:38,560 --> 00:17:42,120
if I was 99% sure to get the money back.

221
00:17:43,720 --> 00:17:47,120
In this case, I was 99% sure 

222
00:17:47,200 --> 00:17:49,280
we would not get the money back, 

223
00:17:49,840 --> 00:17:52,880
but we just brushed
our financial regulations aside.

224
00:17:52,960 --> 00:17:57,200
This was a very important
trust-building gesture, 

225
00:17:57,280 --> 00:17:58,760
signaling to Gorbachev 

226
00:17:58,840 --> 00:18:02,640
that he could rely
on Helmut Kohl and his government.

227
00:18:10,920 --> 00:18:12,480
{\an8}Mr. Secretary General, 

228
00:18:13,040 --> 00:18:17,440
{\an8}if you press
the left button on that device,

229
00:18:18,520 --> 00:18:23,240
{\an8}you will see a picture
of today's guest of honor: yourself.

230
00:18:30,800 --> 00:18:34,920
{\an8}Secretary General,
our most important message to you is:

231
00:18:35,000 --> 00:18:39,320
{\an8}thank you for the speed
and dynamics of your politics.

232
00:18:47,400 --> 00:18:50,760
We wanted to achieve a change in attitude.

233
00:18:50,840 --> 00:18:53,120
The Soviet Union was starting to think,

234
00:18:53,200 --> 00:18:55,160
"Maybe we are better off 

235
00:18:55,640 --> 00:19:00,160
having a good relationship
with a reunited Germany,

236
00:19:00,800 --> 00:19:04,560
rather than having
West Germany as an enemy."

237
00:19:04,640 --> 00:19:06,960
At the German-Soviet summit in Moscow, 

238
00:19:07,040 --> 00:19:10,160
Chancellor Kohl
and General Secretary Gorbachev

239
00:19:10,240 --> 00:19:13,200
spent four hours in private talks.

240
00:19:13,280 --> 00:19:15,320
The Soviet leadership was impressed

241
00:19:15,400 --> 00:19:17,320
that Helmut Kohl came to Moscow 

242
00:19:17,400 --> 00:19:21,080
with a generous offer
for economic support.

243
00:19:21,160 --> 00:19:23,640
Gorbachev and I agree 

244
00:19:23,720 --> 00:19:26,760
that the German nation
should have the sole right 

245
00:19:27,280 --> 00:19:28,920
to decide

246
00:19:29,720 --> 00:19:32,520
whether it wants
to live again as one country.

247
00:19:35,000 --> 00:19:35,880
He was like…

248
00:19:35,960 --> 00:19:38,000
{\an8}Let me shake your hand.

249
00:19:38,080 --> 00:19:43,160
{\an8}It was a good day's work.
We can be proud, really proud.

250
00:19:44,080 --> 00:19:47,520
{\an8}I think we should celebrate
and have a drink right now.

251
00:19:50,040 --> 00:19:51,840
The GDR had to perish

252
00:19:52,600 --> 00:19:54,400
in the face of West Germany,

253
00:19:55,120 --> 00:19:57,320
because it had lost all its allies. 

254
00:19:57,400 --> 00:19:58,920
That's the truth!

255
00:19:59,000 --> 00:20:00,280
Do you all have a drink?

256
00:20:00,360 --> 00:20:01,280
Yes!

257
00:20:01,840 --> 00:20:02,920
Here's to Germany!

258
00:20:09,120 --> 00:20:11,880
Because of Gorbachev's betrayal...

259
00:20:13,360 --> 00:20:15,040
our country perished. 

260
00:20:17,440 --> 00:20:19,040
Nothing made sense anymore.

261
00:20:19,680 --> 00:20:22,120
I was depressed, dejected.

262
00:20:23,520 --> 00:20:25,800
And my job was gone. We had to go.

263
00:20:28,520 --> 00:20:31,320
The last staff members of the Stasi

264
00:20:31,400 --> 00:20:33,720
left their workplace
for the final time today.

265
00:20:33,800 --> 00:20:35,640
The on duty officer told me…

266
00:20:35,720 --> 00:20:39,640
First we have to collect
their weapons and put them in storage.

267
00:20:39,720 --> 00:20:44,120
Then they'll submit
their service uniforms to a central depot.

268
00:20:46,480 --> 00:20:49,720
We didn't want to be identified
as former Stasi officers.

269
00:20:49,800 --> 00:20:52,800
The bad press in the newspapers,

270
00:20:53,480 --> 00:20:56,080
TV, and so on caused a lot of uncertainty.

271
00:20:56,160 --> 00:20:59,880
There was even a law under consideration

272
00:21:00,400 --> 00:21:03,600
to label the MFC a criminal organization.

273
00:21:04,280 --> 00:21:06,880
DOWN WITH THE STASI

274
00:21:06,960 --> 00:21:10,040
{\an8}Minister for the Environment,
Karl-Hermann Steinberg

275
00:21:10,120 --> 00:21:13,480
{\an8}was an undercover Stasi informant.

276
00:21:13,560 --> 00:21:15,720
Minister, would you
comment on the accusation?

277
00:21:15,800 --> 00:21:18,920
I must reject Mr. Fischer's accusations.

278
00:21:19,000 --> 00:21:20,520
{\an8}MINISTER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT
KARL-HERMANN STEINBERG

279
00:21:20,600 --> 00:21:22,800
We would like to ask you a few questions 

280
00:21:22,880 --> 00:21:25,680
regarding your work
for the Ministry of State Security.

281
00:21:25,760 --> 00:21:27,000
Where did you get that idea?

282
00:21:27,080 --> 00:21:30,360
-May we ask you--
-No, and stop taking pictures of me.

283
00:21:30,760 --> 00:21:32,240
We are looking for Mr. Pirne.

284
00:21:32,320 --> 00:21:34,160
Pirne? That's me.

285
00:21:34,240 --> 00:21:35,360
-You?
-Yes.

286
00:21:35,440 --> 00:21:37,800
-Can you stop this, please?
-Are you a Stasi officer?

287
00:21:37,880 --> 00:21:40,760
-No. Stop this, please.
-Were you a Stasi officer?

288
00:21:41,240 --> 00:21:42,600
There are documents stating

289
00:21:42,680 --> 00:21:44,680
that you are a special duty officer.

290
00:21:44,760 --> 00:21:45,680
Well, I was.

291
00:21:46,160 --> 00:21:48,120
-You were?
-It's in the past, of course.

292
00:21:48,640 --> 00:21:50,480
But you were a special duty officer?

293
00:21:50,560 --> 00:21:51,400
Yes, I was.

294
00:21:52,280 --> 00:21:53,960
-And you openly admit to it?
-Yes.

295
00:21:54,920 --> 00:21:56,160
Why should I deny it? 

296
00:21:56,720 --> 00:22:01,040
Mr. Rohwedder, were you able
to dismantle the old Stasi networks

297
00:22:01,120 --> 00:22:04,040
in order to have more of a free hand?

298
00:22:04,120 --> 00:22:06,800
Mr. Lohse, if you're referring
to Stasi members,

299
00:22:06,880 --> 00:22:10,840
we don't have any
at the Treuhand, not anymore.

300
00:22:11,520 --> 00:22:15,880
I wouldn't lead an organization
where such people work.

301
00:22:17,160 --> 00:22:20,400
Many people were summarily dismissed

302
00:22:20,480 --> 00:22:25,560
without any consideration of their service
or recognition for their life's work.

303
00:22:25,640 --> 00:22:29,200
They were deprived of justice.

304
00:22:30,280 --> 00:22:35,120
And it upset me to see
so many people disregarded

305
00:22:35,200 --> 00:22:37,640
by the self-perceived victors of history.

306
00:22:37,720 --> 00:22:39,120
There was no victory.

307
00:22:39,200 --> 00:22:42,040
If anyone won,
it was us, the East Germans.

308
00:22:45,040 --> 00:22:47,960
Overnight, our people became irrelevant.

309
00:22:49,480 --> 00:22:52,240
Today a general, tomorrow pauper.

310
00:22:53,120 --> 00:22:57,120
This had a massive negative impact

311
00:22:57,200 --> 00:23:00,680
on all the former armed forces,

312
00:23:00,760 --> 00:23:02,680
not just the Stasi.

313
00:23:05,120 --> 00:23:08,200
"It should be evident to everybody

314
00:23:08,280 --> 00:23:11,400
that the former Stasi members
constitute a volatile social issue.

315
00:23:11,800 --> 00:23:16,200
The social situation of Stasi members
is, to say the least, catastrophic.

316
00:23:20,800 --> 00:23:25,520
Former high-ranking commanders
are either discharged,

317
00:23:25,600 --> 00:23:29,600
unemployed, or working poor jobs
at the bottom of the social hierarchy,

318
00:23:29,680 --> 00:23:31,440
well below their qualifications."

319
00:23:33,440 --> 00:23:37,320
And these were all people
who voluntarily stepped down from power

320
00:23:37,400 --> 00:23:42,840
in order to find their place
within this new, democratic system.

321
00:23:44,320 --> 00:23:47,480
Of course, that's not to say
there weren't malefactors.

322
00:23:48,720 --> 00:23:51,560
The Stasi had 100,000 full-time employees.

323
00:23:51,640 --> 00:23:54,000
There could have been
someone bearing a grudge.

324
00:24:12,200 --> 00:24:17,720
Any acts of revenge killing...

325
00:24:18,520 --> 00:24:19,600
Unthinkable. 

326
00:24:20,680 --> 00:24:22,440
Although, it was possible.

327
00:24:25,160 --> 00:24:26,320
We had the weapons.

328
00:24:32,440 --> 00:24:36,280
If we had been ordered
to go somewhere and use our weapons,

329
00:24:36,360 --> 00:24:38,120
of course, I would have gone.

330
00:24:41,520 --> 00:24:43,600
But I don't know if I could fire a shot.

331
00:24:48,280 --> 00:24:53,520
I did not much care
that the man was shot or killed.

332
00:24:54,120 --> 00:24:55,520
Didn't matter to me.

333
00:24:55,600 --> 00:24:59,160
I had more pressing problems,
like how to get back on my feet

334
00:24:59,240 --> 00:25:00,600
and earn a living. 

335
00:25:01,120 --> 00:25:05,680
Luckily, I met the head
of a security company.

336
00:25:06,280 --> 00:25:07,720
He hired me immediately.

337
00:25:10,040 --> 00:25:11,640
But it still felt like 

338
00:25:12,200 --> 00:25:18,360
I'd been the director of a hospital
and was downgraded to a porter.

339
00:25:26,120 --> 00:25:28,640
Back then, we employed a lot of people

340
00:25:28,720 --> 00:25:31,640
from the GDR's special forces. 

341
00:25:32,560 --> 00:25:37,920
In the Düsseldorf-Essen area,
we had approximately thirty

342
00:25:38,000 --> 00:25:40,640
working in various positions. 

343
00:25:40,720 --> 00:25:44,560
We were glad to have them
as they knew how to handle a weapon,

344
00:25:44,640 --> 00:25:48,440
had a military mindset, knew how to guard,

345
00:25:48,520 --> 00:25:50,880
how to patrol and protect. 

346
00:25:50,960 --> 00:25:54,720
So they were our preferred recruits.
There wasn't anything immoral in that.

347
00:25:54,800 --> 00:25:58,840
We had no means of checking
their full background anyway.

348
00:26:00,640 --> 00:26:03,160
There were four private security firms 

349
00:26:03,240 --> 00:26:07,240
operating in the exclusive area around
the Kaiser-Friedrich-Ring in Düsseldorf.

350
00:26:08,200 --> 00:26:11,200
Were there black sheep among them,

351
00:26:11,280 --> 00:26:13,160
spying on the Rohwedder house?

352
00:26:14,760 --> 00:26:16,920
How else could the gunman have known

353
00:26:17,000 --> 00:26:20,720
that the office window
on the first floor of Rohwedder's house

354
00:26:20,800 --> 00:26:23,600
was not bulletproof? 

355
00:26:25,000 --> 00:26:28,160
A security guard
can gather a lot of information.

356
00:26:29,440 --> 00:26:32,720
I don't want to rule out
that people continued to talk

357
00:26:32,800 --> 00:26:35,040
to whomever while off-duty, 

358
00:26:35,120 --> 00:26:39,440
and that someone must have said,
"Look at this house. He must be rich.

359
00:26:39,520 --> 00:26:41,400
What's his security like?" 

360
00:26:41,480 --> 00:26:45,240
Someone might have said,
"It's mostly private security

361
00:26:45,320 --> 00:26:47,560
and there's a minimal police presence.

362
00:26:47,640 --> 00:26:50,160
And that's why I think it's all possible.

363
00:26:52,160 --> 00:26:53,880
I ask myself to this day:

364
00:26:55,120 --> 00:27:01,080
Who is ultimately responsible
for the killing of my former boss?

365
00:27:03,560 --> 00:27:06,240
Early on, I had gained some insight

366
00:27:06,320 --> 00:27:11,440
into the former Stasi
while working at the Treuhand,

367
00:27:11,520 --> 00:27:15,320
but investigating Stasi
structures and misconduct

368
00:27:15,400 --> 00:27:18,440
was not our primary concern.

369
00:27:18,520 --> 00:27:20,680
We were managing financial assets.

370
00:27:20,760 --> 00:27:24,520
There are a lot of processes
that are anything but agreeable.

371
00:27:24,600 --> 00:27:29,240
Sometimes I feel
like the Deputy Sheriff being blamed

372
00:27:29,320 --> 00:27:32,080
for everything that's gone wrong
over the past few months.

373
00:27:32,160 --> 00:27:34,640
This definitely isn't good.

374
00:27:36,800 --> 00:27:40,680
Mr. Rohwedder had to make
some bizarre decisions,

375
00:27:40,760 --> 00:27:42,720
which were unpopular with some people. 

376
00:27:43,880 --> 00:27:46,520
And if there was a rogue
among those unhappy people,

377
00:27:46,600 --> 00:27:49,440
who thought he could protect
his interests by using a weapon,

378
00:27:49,520 --> 00:27:52,840
then it could have been
one of the reasons for his death.

379
00:27:52,920 --> 00:27:55,560
4 WEEKS 

380
00:27:55,640 --> 00:27:59,080
UNTIL THE MURDER

381
00:27:59,160 --> 00:28:03,560
In March 1991, we had discussions 

382
00:28:03,640 --> 00:28:06,880
about employing auditors 

383
00:28:06,960 --> 00:28:09,120
to analyze and establish 

384
00:28:09,200 --> 00:28:13,120
whether there were
hidden assets we needed to seize.

385
00:28:15,920 --> 00:28:17,160
I am Kurt Hillmann...

386
00:28:18,240 --> 00:28:19,840
born in Berlin. 

387
00:28:19,920 --> 00:28:24,760
I studied international trade and worked
in the GDR's Ministry for Foreign Trade.

388
00:28:24,840 --> 00:28:29,560
And finally I began working
for the foreign trade company IMES.

389
00:28:33,200 --> 00:28:34,960
The company

390
00:28:35,880 --> 00:28:40,560
was engaged in the sale

391
00:28:41,240 --> 00:28:44,400
of weapons and ammunition.

392
00:28:48,200 --> 00:28:50,040
The main weapon was the AK-47.

393
00:28:52,000 --> 00:28:53,520
Where did we sell them? 

394
00:28:54,960 --> 00:28:55,800
Africa.

395
00:28:57,600 --> 00:28:58,760
South America. 

396
00:29:02,680 --> 00:29:07,000
IMES was part of KoKo,

397
00:29:07,800 --> 00:29:10,880
Department for Commercial Coordination.

398
00:29:12,240 --> 00:29:14,880
It was a whole network with many people, 

399
00:29:14,960 --> 00:29:18,960
often conducting normal business...

400
00:29:20,080 --> 00:29:22,840
in order to acquire
foreign currency for the GDR.

401
00:29:23,720 --> 00:29:29,120
Purchases could be made for which
the GDR Mark was not accepted as payment.

402
00:29:29,200 --> 00:29:32,800
But they also had
some rather... 

403
00:29:33,600 --> 00:29:35,600
questionable practices.

404
00:29:37,240 --> 00:29:40,280
There were crooked deals,
such as an emergency call

405
00:29:40,360 --> 00:29:43,080
for blood donations for the victims
of an earthquake in Romania.

406
00:29:43,160 --> 00:29:46,840
But the blood ended up being sold
to the Red Cross in Munich.

407
00:29:48,440 --> 00:29:51,600
Medical equipment, the art trade, 

408
00:29:53,200 --> 00:29:54,760
weapons, and ammunition…

409
00:29:55,920 --> 00:29:57,960
There was a whole range of goods involved.

410
00:29:58,040 --> 00:30:02,560
How they made their money
and how much they made

411
00:30:02,640 --> 00:30:04,600
only became known
after the Wall came down.

412
00:30:04,680 --> 00:30:09,480
The weapons on offer included
far more than the well-known AK-47

413
00:30:09,560 --> 00:30:11,800
and its ammunition.

414
00:30:14,760 --> 00:30:16,240
Trading in weapons…

415
00:30:17,800 --> 00:30:20,520
from a business point of view, 

416
00:30:21,320 --> 00:30:22,640
whatever makes money. 

417
00:30:23,320 --> 00:30:25,040
It doesn't matter what you trade, 

418
00:30:26,440 --> 00:30:29,360
be it buttons or heavy machinery.

419
00:30:31,120 --> 00:30:32,640
Make no mistake,

420
00:30:33,480 --> 00:30:39,240
this was a well-organized department
that made the most of capitalism.

421
00:30:41,120 --> 00:30:45,720
The head of the department
was Alexander Schalck-Golodkowski.

422
00:30:51,200 --> 00:30:56,840
If there was fraud,
corruption, dishonesty,

423
00:30:57,360 --> 00:31:01,640
this is for others to investigate, not us.

424
00:31:01,720 --> 00:31:04,120
But we will do our share to shed light

425
00:31:04,200 --> 00:31:08,200
on the Schalck-Golodkowski affair.

426
00:31:10,440 --> 00:31:15,280
We are doing what we can,
but it's a volatile matter.

427
00:31:17,360 --> 00:31:19,920
Pictures of his public
appearances are rare.

428
00:31:20,000 --> 00:31:23,680
Schalck was one of the most important
mediators between the East and West.

429
00:31:24,120 --> 00:31:28,600
Why didn't they ever really chase...

430
00:31:29,960 --> 00:31:33,240
the missing millions?

431
00:31:33,320 --> 00:31:36,840
Could it be
that some people had an interest

432
00:31:36,920 --> 00:31:39,040
in delaying this?

433
00:31:39,720 --> 00:31:41,240
{\an8}Authorities are searching

434
00:31:41,320 --> 00:31:44,560
{\an8}for the former State Secretary
of Commercial Coordination,

435
00:31:44,640 --> 00:31:45,840
{\an8}Alexander Schalck-Golodkowski.

436
00:31:47,760 --> 00:31:52,400
Business expert Schalck-Golodkowski,
who yesterday was still in Bonn for talks,

437
00:31:52,480 --> 00:31:56,440
{\an8}is suspected
of abuse of office and embezzlement.

438
00:31:58,080 --> 00:32:00,400
Dr. Schalck-Golodkowski was on the run.

439
00:32:00,480 --> 00:32:04,000
They flew him to the Federal Intelligence
Service Office in Munich.

440
00:32:04,520 --> 00:32:10,240
And we were left wondering, "Is he really
getting away with it so easily?"

441
00:32:10,320 --> 00:32:14,960
{\an8}The initial court hearing took place
today at Berlin State Court in the case

442
00:32:15,040 --> 00:32:18,000
{\an8}against the GDR's foreign currency
procurer Schalck-Golodkowski.

443
00:32:18,080 --> 00:32:22,200
I think when he got
a suspended sentence of 18 months,

444
00:32:22,840 --> 00:32:25,160
he must have laughed about it.

445
00:32:25,240 --> 00:32:28,240
I remember we had
another court case against him,

446
00:32:28,320 --> 00:32:30,720
but the hearings had to be postponed

447
00:32:30,800 --> 00:32:36,200
because the accused was on a German
government plane on his way to China

448
00:32:36,280 --> 00:32:38,360
to advise on trading with the East.

449
00:32:39,200 --> 00:32:45,960
From then on we knew that we couldn't
expect much from the state prosecutor.

450
00:32:46,040 --> 00:32:49,400
Someone held a protective hand over him.

451
00:32:49,480 --> 00:32:53,520
{\an8}Today, Minister of the Interior Schäuble
repudiated a report in Stern magazine, 

452
00:32:53,600 --> 00:32:56,040
{\an8}claiming he had helped
the SED foreign currency procurer

453
00:32:56,120 --> 00:32:58,520
{\an8}and Stasi officer Schalck-Golodkowski

454
00:32:58,600 --> 00:33:01,560
{\an8}to escape GDR jurisdiction.

455
00:33:01,640 --> 00:33:06,880
In the West, in the Federal Republic,
there was nothing against him.

456
00:33:06,960 --> 00:33:13,360
And we agreed
that he should be treated humanely,

457
00:33:13,440 --> 00:33:16,080
and the Diakonie
organization did just that.

458
00:33:16,160 --> 00:33:19,840
Wolfgang Schäuble is someone who would
have been central to the investigations.

459
00:33:19,920 --> 00:33:22,240
He knew much about
the events but said little.

460
00:33:22,320 --> 00:33:25,480
The federal government held back
and concealed important files.

461
00:33:25,560 --> 00:33:27,480
We were quite angry

462
00:33:27,560 --> 00:33:31,280
when we heard Schalck
had sent letters to Schäuble.

463
00:33:31,360 --> 00:33:34,000
He must have mentioned details

464
00:33:34,080 --> 00:33:39,200
{\an8}about the companies, assets, and so forth.

465
00:33:39,280 --> 00:33:41,720
We never got a hold of those letters.

466
00:33:42,360 --> 00:33:46,280
At first, Schäuble couldn't remember.
Then he said the letters were "private."

467
00:33:46,360 --> 00:33:49,760
He claimed he was under
no obligation to hand them over.

468
00:33:49,840 --> 00:33:52,880
And, anyway, he couldn't remember
whether he still had them.

469
00:33:52,960 --> 00:33:54,920
And we were supposed to find the money?

470
00:33:55,000 --> 00:33:57,440
Secure it? How? We had nothing.

471
00:33:59,320 --> 00:34:01,520
The media is particularly interested

472
00:34:01,600 --> 00:34:05,200
in the contents of some five suitcases,
full of explosive documents.

473
00:34:05,280 --> 00:34:08,160
Schalck calls them his life's work.

474
00:34:08,240 --> 00:34:10,760
Political dynamite in a reunited Germany.

475
00:34:11,920 --> 00:34:13,160
Schalck-Golodkowski

476
00:34:13,240 --> 00:34:17,560
had a very adaptable,
flexible personality.

477
00:34:19,240 --> 00:34:21,680
He couldn't have known
anything about my affairs,

478
00:34:22,160 --> 00:34:24,640
and I didn't know anything about his.

479
00:34:28,080 --> 00:34:30,160
{\an8}Addressing concerns

480
00:34:30,240 --> 00:34:36,600
{\an8}that there might be someone supporting,
shielding, protecting Mr. Schalck, 

481
00:34:36,680 --> 00:34:40,360
I can only repeat what I have said
on numerous occasions before:

482
00:34:40,440 --> 00:34:41,920
complete nonsense!

483
00:34:46,400 --> 00:34:48,800
The files on West German politicians

484
00:34:49,400 --> 00:34:50,800
have been destroyed.

485
00:34:52,320 --> 00:34:53,520
I won't name names, 

486
00:34:54,080 --> 00:34:57,440
but the political elite
knows who I'm talking about.

487
00:34:58,000 --> 00:35:01,240
This means we will see those immoral...

488
00:35:02,280 --> 00:35:05,520
ignorant, evil people
in a variety of positions...

489
00:35:06,760 --> 00:35:09,400
because no files will be found.
They're all gone.

490
00:35:14,120 --> 00:35:15,400
But I know one thing.

491
00:35:15,480 --> 00:35:18,040
In the spring of 1991,

492
00:35:18,120 --> 00:35:22,000
there were no Stasi structures left
that could have executed people.

493
00:35:22,080 --> 00:35:23,600
They simply didn't exist.

494
00:35:31,040 --> 00:35:34,240
{\an8}STATE CRIMINAL POLICE OFFICE
HEAD OF STATE SECURITY

495
00:35:35,040 --> 00:35:37,280
The fact that this murder 

496
00:35:37,360 --> 00:35:42,240
could be politically exploited
back then is interesting.

497
00:35:44,000 --> 00:35:49,320
Being politically aware and also thinking
in criminological terms, I ask myself:

498
00:35:50,840 --> 00:35:52,760
Who could it have benefited?

499
00:35:54,480 --> 00:35:56,280
I could imagine someone 

500
00:35:56,360 --> 00:35:59,360
who had nothing to do
with the Stasi or the RAF.

501
00:36:01,720 --> 00:36:05,960
He could be an independent killer,
but acting on the orders...

502
00:36:07,120 --> 00:36:09,600
of some powerful
Western political stakeholder.