The Stasi: Hollywood's Best Kept Little Secret

Judge Hollywood not only by what it spits out, but also by what it chooses to avoid.

I am always surprised when I have to explain to someone who the Stasi were. In fact, as a default I use the-Stasi-East-German-secret-police as one word. Nevertheless, I should admit that it was not so long ago that I didn’t know the meaning of the word Stasi. When did I learn? When I watched the brilliant, award-winning German film, Das Leben Der Anderen (The Lives of Others). That film sparked my unhealthy obsession with the Stasi.

If someone told me they did not know what a Nazi was, I would immediately contact Starfleet to determine the possibility of an intergalactic, hostile spy network on earth. Does such a person even exist? Not unless they have been kept sheltered from all forms of media for the past sixty years.

We are blessed to have many poignant movies about the Nazis and the atrocities committed in concentration camps. As the years tick by and those who lived through those unimaginable experiences slip between the pages of history, I thank God that history has been preserved in books and film.

In contrast, I find the lack of movies about East Germany (or any country behind the Iron Curtain for that matter) rather telling. It is not for absence of living witnesses or data. It is merely a lack of will to even touch the subject. When the president of the United States snubs the twentieth anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, maybe it is best to just not go there. Encouraging Americans to think about the mind-boggling amount of resources required to maintain the socialist utopia might cause them to question the entire concept of socialism.

The only compelling films about the Stasi or the Berlin Wall were made in Germany. (And I am happy to be proven wrong on this.) In addition to Das Leben Der Anderen, I recommend another gorgeous film, Der Tunnel. And for those who are very committed, the painfully slow but artistic Wings of Desire (original title was more elegant: Der Himmel über Berlin, The Sky Over Berlin).

Hollywood regulars claim to be horrified by wrongful imprisonment and torture. Good. Why not interview the Stasi’s victims and review their gargantuan file archives? Point noted that The Lives of Others received the academy award for best foreign language film in 2006, but a few non-subtitled movies are welcome to step in the arena at any time.

Moviegoers are inspired by beautiful cinematography and passionate emotions portrayed on film. It is a shame that people in a position to make a difference — to record history lest it be forgotten — avoid topics that are inconvenient.

Perhaps my obsession with the Stasi is not so unhealthy. What is truly unhealthy is the willingness to let history die.