Joint Activities Between Bulgarian State Security and Stasi

Plans for Cooperation

In 1983, a plan was created outlining the future collaboration between Department Six of the Bulgarian State Security and Chief Directorate Two of Stasi (East Germany’s Ministry of State Security) for the period 1984 to 1986. This plan focused on shared intelligence gathering and strategies for dealing with citizens who attempted to escape to the West. This partnership highlighted the strong cooperation between the Eastern Bloc countries in maintaining control over their citizens and preventing defection.

Repression Against Escapees and Their Families

A State Security report from 24 February 1953 described harsh measures against Bulgarians who had escaped to the West and their families who remained in Bulgaria. The report outlines several punitive actions, such as:

Imprisonment: The relatives of those who escaped were to be sent to the Belene labor camp, especially if they were not involved in legal proceedings Personal Istanbul Tours.

Confiscation of Property: The report ordered the confiscation of all immovable property owned by the escapees or their families.

Responsibility for Possessions: The escapees’ remaining belongings, including livestock, were to be treated as the responsibility of their families.

Punishment for Children: Children aged 14 to 18 were to be sent to Labor Schools, which were operated under the Ministry of the Interior. Children aged 7 to 14 were to be placed in special schools run by the Ministry of Education.

These measures reflect the extreme steps the regime took to control families of defectors and punish anyone associated with them. Such tactics were used to discourage any attempts at escape, as well as to isolate families and prevent them from challenging the government.

Surveillance and Intelligence Sharing

The Bulgarian State Security worked closely with the Stasi in monitoring and suppressing political opposition. In one example of this cooperation, Stasi provided the Bulgarian government with information about the activities of political emigrants, including those who had fled the country or attempted to organize resistance.

The Stasi played a significant role in intelligence gathering, not just on a domestic level, but also by monitoring Bulgarians abroad, including in countries like the USA, Yugoslavia, Greece, Italy, and the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany). These efforts were part of a broader strategy to control and eliminate political opposition across the Eastern Bloc.

Collaboration Between the Bulgarian and East German Security Forces

A significant part of this cooperation included the exchange of information and strategies related to tracking down and stopping individuals involved in political emigration. Both the Bulgarian State Security and the Stasi sought to prevent citizens from escaping to the West and to monitor political activities that could threaten their regimes. This included spying on Bulgarian officials who traveled to the West and gathering information on their interactions with Western political groups.

The partnership between the Bulgarian and East German intelligence services was not only about tracking escapees but also about ensuring that the Eastern Bloc remained tightly controlled through surveillance and suppression of any dissent, whether within the borders or abroad.

The close collaboration between the Bulgarian State Security and the Stasi reflected the broader security practices within the Eastern Bloc, where nations worked together to control their citizens. The harsh measures against defectors, their families, and anyone attempting to escape were part of the repressive tactics used by these regimes. The intelligence-sharing agreements, like the ones described for the years 1984–1986, show the lengths to which these governments went to maintain control over their populations and prevent any signs of rebellion or escape.