IRiS: Institutional Racism in the Security Authorities of the GDR: Saxony-Anhalt and the Districts of Magdeburg and Halle, 1949-1989/90

Questions concerning everyday racism and right-wing extremism in GDR society have been the subject of academic studies and public-media debates in recent years. Against the backdrop of these discussions, the IRiS project brings together historiography on the GDR with historical research on racism and policing. The project draws on extensive archival holdings from the State Archive of Saxony-Anhalt, the Stasi Records Archive, and the Federal Archives.

Two subprojects focus on the security authorities of the GDR. The first case study examines criminal investigation training and police education within the Deutsche Volkspolizei, particularly at the Officer School of the Ministry of the Interior in Aschersleben and the Section Officer School in Wolfen. This research addresses GDR immigration law and its (non-)treatment in police education, as well as the implementation of “guest courses” with foreign security personnel from so-called “brother states.”

A second research focus investigates the surveillance of contract workers and international students in the districts of Halle and Magdeburg by the Ministry for State Security, and reconstructs the Volkspolizei’s approach to dealing with foreigners.

Archival research reveals that the concept of institutional racism cannot be directly applied to the historical conditions of the GDR. Rather, the actions of the Volkspolizei and State Security were shaped by a complex constellation of interests, with a common denominator being a strict fixation on conformity and the avoidance of conflict.

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