First Class Comrades: The Stasi in the Cold War, 1945-1961

by J. Boulter

No country in history has been more deeply penetrated by spies than divided Germany after the Second World War. Among them were the 'first class comrades' of the Stasi - the East German Ministry for State Security. The early Cold War saw the Stasi establish itself as one of the world's most notorious spy and secret police agencies.

Drawing on previously unexamined files from the Stasi archives, First Class Comrades tells the Stasi story from a fresh how it helped to create a new European state, how its foreign intelligence service became one of the most successful ever, and how its spy-catchers tackled vigorous attempts by the West to infiltrate East Germany - attempts that influenced the decision to build the Berlin Wall.

Full of new insights and little-known facts about the Stasi and Cold War espionage, and featuring newly discovered details of the Stasi's operational methods, First Class Comrades shines a light on this lesser-known period of Stasi history, and why its stories and lessons still matter today.

Genres: History

748 pages, Paperback

First published February 3, 2025

Reviews

[Upandatom786 · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is definitely not an unbiased or objective history of the Stasi in the time period noted. At its worst, it devolves into outright apologia for the Nazi regime and the atrocities they committed against the Soviet Union. For most of its length, it whines about how mean the savage Commies were against the pure and blameless Germans who had no ill intentions towards the subhuman Slavic hordes. But there are rare moments where you can glean real insights about the important work done by the Stasi, the KGB, the NKVD, and SMERSH, in order to frustrate Nazi remnants in their attempts to sabotage postwar reconstruction efforts. In order to glean these insights, however, you must read the book with a jaundiced eye, and keep in mind the class position and admitted anticommunist bias of the author. Ultimately, those insights are still too rare to justify actually reading the book in its entirety.

[D Fitzgerald · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an impressive and comprehensive account of the Stasi in its early days. There's a lot of new information in here for English readers that I hadn't come across elsewhere. For example, the Stasi's battles with Western intelligence services throw up some surprises and compelling stories. It's a long read but a well-written one and worth it if you're into Cold War and espionage history.