Behind the Files of Communist-Era Surveillance

A Guided Visit to the Security Services Archive in Prague. Join me for a special excursion to the Security Services Archive of the Czech Republic, an institution preserving the records of the Nazi and Communist security and intelligence services.

The Archive preserves extensive collections documenting the activities of the State Security, the Ministry of the Interior, the Public Security service, military intelligence and counterintelligence, the Border Guard, prison security bodies and other institutions. Its holdings include personal and operational files, investigation records, index cards, registers, photographs, films, microfiches and electronic records.

Our guided visit will introduce participants to:
• the structure and activities of the Communist-era security services;
• the kinds of files and records created by the StB;
• surveillance methods and the recruitment of informants;
• the preservation and interpretation of sensitive archival material;
• the possibilities available to researchers and members of the public;
• the role of archives in understanding dictatorship, repression and everyday life under Communism.

We will gather at the Smíchovské nádraží in the hall by the main panel and take the bus Protected content . After the excursion we´ll stop in the restaurant U dvou Kaštanů, see Protected content .