Secret police files from the Eastern bloc by Valentina Glajar

Secret police files from the Eastern bloc by Valentina Glajar, Alison Lewis, Corina Petrescu – Between surveillance and life writing – is a must read book. It’s a short book, of just over 200 pages, on communist secret police services with a focus on the East German Stasi, the Romanian Securitate (in relation to Transylvanian Germans in Romania), and the Hungarian State Security Agency. Because it has two Romanian authors and deals with Romania, I’ve included it in the Romanian history tab on the blog. Nevertheless, the book is very much about what happened in the other two countries. I liked how each chapter, and there are 8 of them, deals with a story. Some cover three cases, while other chapters are on a single case.

Because the chapters are short and deal with cases that are very interesting, I think this is the kind of book that anyone would enjoy reading. I had to read the book for my studies, but I am very glad it was on the reading list. It was fascinating to read why some people collaborated, what they wanted to achieve, what the security services had in mind from them. Do read it if you have the chance.

Secret police files from the Eastern bloc by Valentina Glajar, Alison Lewis, Corina Petrescu,

Details about the picture: I used a picture of a dosar cu șină as a background. It was still in use until earlier this year in Romania, a nod to bureaucracy, a reminiscent of communism. It was also the type of folder used by the Securitate
My rating: 5/5 Stars
Would I recommend it: yes
Published by: Camden House
Year it was published: 2016
Format: e-book
Genre(s): History
Pages: 252

About the authors: Valentina Glajar is Professor of German at Texas State University, San Marcos. Alison Lewis is Professor of German in the School of Languages and Linguistics, The University of Melbourne, Australia. Corina L. Petrescu is Associate Professor of Germanat the University of Mississippi.
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