SPYING – PROCESSING – COMBATTING

An Exhibition on the Stasi Records Archive in Leipzig

The permanent exhibition, which opened in April 2026, provides an overview of the structures, methods, and operations of the Leipzig District Administration of the Ministry for State Security – commonly known as the Stasi.

Organised into four sections with texts in German and English, the exhibition shows how the Stasi collected, managed, analysed, and utilised information. Case studies of victims and perpetrators, supplemented by documents, photos, films, and artefacts from the archive, bring to life the nearly 40-year history of the Stasi in Leipzig.

They show how the Stasi used every means at its disposal to secure the dictatorship of the GDR’s ruling party, the SED.

The exhibition is presented at the historic “Runde Ecke” or round-corner building. The Stasi had used the main exhibition hall for representative purposes. In the fall of 1989, it became a meeting place for civil rights activists whose courageous efforts brought down the SED regime and the Stasi.

It is in no small part thanks to their efforts that the Stasi records are accessible today and can be used to examine the Stasi’s human rights violations.

More information on the Stasi Records Archive in Leipzig