It documents the origins, tasks and methods of the Ministry for State Security (MfS). Using selected dates and events from the history of the GDR as examples, it explains how the MfS, as the "shield and sword of the party", secured the power of the state party SED.

The exhibition is supplemented by a regional information board showing the work of the Stasi in Salzgitter. 2017 also marks the 25th anniversary of the closure of the Central Registration Office of the State Justice Administrations in Salzgitter.

After a welcoming address by Mayor Stephan Roßmann, the Federal Commissioner for Stasi Records, Roland Jahn, will speak at the opening. The authority has also succeeded in attracting former Attorney General Christoph Schaefgen (responsible for prosecuting GDR government crime, among other things). To kick off the exhibition, there will therefore be a dialog between Jahn and Schaefgen on central questions of coming to terms with the past.

As part of the exhibition, the authority is offering teacher training and three school project days. There are still places available. The contact person in Berlin is Andreas Schiller (telephone 030 / 186658928) or e-mail bildungbstu.bundde

The teacher training course will take place on Thursday, January 19, from 3 to 5:30 p.m.; the student project days are planned for the mornings of February 14, 15 and 16. The venue for each event is the town hall.