Following the end of World War II East Germany came under the control of the USSR as part of the Soviet Zone.  By 1949 the embryonic political and military organizations set up by the Soviets had become cornerstones of the newly established German Democratic Republic (DDR).  One of the most important organizations, both as a bulwark against Western influence and as a control mechanism for the local population, was the MfS, or Ministry for State Security, popularly known as the STASI. 

During the forty years of the DDR’s existence, until the collapse of the regime in 1989, a huge range of decorations and award documents were showered upon the MfS personnel in recognition of outstanding achievements or length of service.  This is the first volume to provide a comprehensive survey and evaluation of STASI decorations.  The author, who was in Germany in the late 1980s and witnessed the downfall of the DDR, has built up a formidable STASI collection of his own.  He draws on this to construct an invaluable work of reference for all those engaged in collecting STASI material, identifying subtle changes in particular documents and awards, and providing time-charts and crucial measuring data to help spot non-authentic reproductions, with some known to exist.

Although it has its origins in the building of an outstanding collection, Ralph Pickard’s analysis also manages to provide an illuminating glimpse into an historical and political era that is fast vanishing.