Helmut Müller-Enbergs (born
Haltern
Haltern am See (''Haltern at the lake'', before December 2001 only Haltern) is a medium-sized town in the northern part of the district of Recklinghausen in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' Münster in North Rhine-Westphalia. The town is located in the n ...
/
NRW 1960) is a German
political scientist
Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...
who has written extensively on the
Stasi
The Ministry for State Security (, ; abbreviated MfS), commonly known as the (, an abbreviation of ), was the Intelligence agency, state security service and secret police of East Germany from 1950 to 1990. It was one of the most repressive pol ...
and related aspects of the
German Democratic Republic
East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...
's history.
Life
Müller-Enbergs studied
Political sciences
Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and ...
between 1986 and 1989, initially at the
"Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität“ in Münster and subsequently at the
Otto Suhr Institute (part of the
Free University of Berlin
The Free University of Berlin (, often abbreviated as FU Berlin or simply FU) is a public university, public research university in Berlin, Germany. It was founded in West Berlin in 1948 with American support during the early Cold War period a ...
). From 1986 till 1989 he was a research student, later becoming a research assistant at the
Free University's Central Research Institute.
[ Meanwhile, he turned up as a press spokesperson for the "Bündnis 90" (moderate) political grouping in the Brandenburg regional parliament, where he also provided technical support to the Stolpe committee of enquiry.][
Since 1992 he has been a research officer with the Federal Commission for the Stasi Records (''"Bundesbeauftragter für die Stasi-Unterlagen"''). He is a co-author of the official report on ]Gregor Gysi
Gregor Florian Gysi (; born 16 January 1948) is a German attorney, former president of the Party of the European Left and a prominent politician of The Left () political party.
He belonged to the reformist wing of the governing Socialist Unity ...
(1996) prepared for the Immunity Committee of the Bundestag ''(German national legislature)''. Between 2003 and its dissolution in 2005 Müller-Enbergs headed up the Rosenholz Research Group.
Currently (2014) his research is focused on detailed investigation of Informal collaborators (sometimes known as undercover informers) and the Main Intelligence Administration ''"Hauptverwaltung Aufklärung"'') of the East German
East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from its formation on 7 October 1949 until its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on 3 October 1990. Until 1989, it was generally vie ...
Ministry for State Security (Stasi), as well as on espionage
Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering, as a subfield of the intelligence field, is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information ( intelligence). A person who commits espionage on a mission-specific contract is called an ...
and "Intelligence service Psychology".[
He gained a doctorate in 2007.][ His doctoral dissertation was produced under the supervision of Prof. Eckhard Jesse,][ the high-profile (in Germany) expert on ]extremism
Extremism is "the quality or state of being extreme" or "the advocacy of extreme measures or views". The term is primarily used in a political or religious sense to refer to an ideology that is considered (by the speaker or by some implied sha ...
and terrorism
Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violence during peacetime or in the context of war aga ...
at the University of Technology
An institute of technology (also referred to as technological university, technical university, university of technology, polytechnic university) is an institution of tertiary education that specializes in engineering, technology, applied science ...
in Chemnitz
Chemnitz (; from 1953 to 1990: Karl-Marx-Stadt (); ; ) is the third-largest city in the Germany, German States of Germany, state of Saxony after Leipzig and Dresden, and the fourth-largest city in the area of former East Germany after (East Be ...
. In 2007/08 Dr. Müller-Enbergs was a visiting scholar at the University of Michigan
The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...
in Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor is a city in Washtenaw County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851, making it the List of municipalities in Michigan, fifth-most populous cit ...
.[ In 2008/09 he had a visiting professorship at the Arts Faculty of the ]University of Southern Denmark
The University of Southern Denmark (, SDU) has campuses located in Southern Denmark and on Zealand. It offers a number of joint programmes in co-operation with the University of Flensburg and the University of Kiel. Contacts with regional indu ...
at Odense
Odense ( , , ) is the third largest city in Denmark (after Copenhagen and Aarhus) and the largest city on the island of Funen. As of 1 January 2025, the city proper had a population of 185,480 while Odense Municipality had a population of 210, ...
, where since 2010 he has been an honorary professor in the Department of History. Additionally, in 2011/12 he became a visiting professor (designated an honorary professor since 2012) at the History Faculty at the Gotland Campus, now part of Uppsala University
Uppsala University (UU) () is a public university, public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the List of universities in Sweden, oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in operation.
Initially fou ...
despite its island location at Visby
Visby () is an urban areas in Sweden, urban area in Sweden and the seat of Gotland Municipality in Gotland County on the island of Gotland with 24,330 inhabitants . Visby is also the episcopal see for the Diocese of Visby. The Hanseatic League, ...
.[
Back in Germany, in 2010 he was elected to membership of two ]Brandenburg
Brandenburg, officially the State of Brandenburg, is a States of Germany, state in northeastern Germany. Brandenburg borders Poland and the states of Berlin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony. It is the List of Ger ...
based commissions dealing with
:(1) Co-operation between deputies in the regional parliament of Brandenburg and the Stasi
The Ministry for State Security (, ; abbreviated MfS), commonly known as the (, an abbreviation of ), was the Intelligence agency, state security service and secret police of East Germany from 1950 to 1990. It was one of the most repressive pol ...
and
:(2) Understanding the history, and dealing with the consequences of, the one-party
A one-party state, single-party state, one-party system or single-party system is a governance structure in which only a single political party controls the ruling system. In a one-party state, all opposition parties are either outlawed or en ...
dictatorship, and of the transition to a democratic state governed according to the rule of law in Brandenburg.
Controversies
Kurras affair
Together with Cornelia Jabs, Müller-Enbergs unmasked, in the journal Deutschland Archiv, the West Berlin policeman as the former SED (i.e. East German communist party) member and Stasi informer "Otto Bohl". Although the director of the Research Department at the Stasi Records Office had, in writing, released the piece for publication, Müller-Enbergs found himself formally admonished by the organisation's board in respect of it: later, in a wide-ranging interview it was powerfully implied that the board of the Stasi record office might have behaved as it did in response to direct or indirect pressure from various quarters, including a formerly Dresden
Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...
based Russian KGB senior officer, Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...
. Müller-Enbergs applied, successfully, for the board's admonishment to be removed from his personnel file, and the matter appeared settled with Müller-Enbergs' reported acceptance that he had not ''sufficiently'' informed the board in respect of the Kurras disclosures.
IM Bob and IM Petra
In Autumn 2012 the board refused him support in trials against two alleged former East German spies known as "IM Bob" and "IM Petra". Academics, journalists and persecution victims from the days of the one party dictatorship
A dictatorship is an autocratic form of government which is characterized by a leader, or a group of leaders, who hold governmental powers with few to no Limited government, limitations. Politics in a dictatorship are controlled by a dictator, ...
now showed him unanimous solidarity.[Markus Wehner: ''Solidarität mit deutschem Forscher. Wissenschaftler rügen Stasi-Unterlagen-Behörde.'' In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung vom 4. November 2012,Page 1.] At the start of 2013 the Deuling couple withdrew from linking their name in a plaint against Helmut Müller-Enbergs. This happened after the court to which the case had been assigned pronounced the case beyond its competence, requiring the matter to be handled under a different legal procedure. This appears to open the way for Müller-Enbergs to conclude the matter with a legally binding assertion that agents "IM Bob" and "IM Petra" are indeed the Deuling couple.
Publications (selection)
''Der Fall Rudolf Herrnstadt. Tauwetterpolitik vor dem 17. Juni.''
Ch. Links Verlag: Berlin 1991
''Von der Illegalität ins Parlament. Werdegang und Konzepte der neuen Bürgerbewegungen.''
(Hrsg. mit Marianne Schulz und Jan Wielgohs), 1991
* '' Wer war wer in der DDR? Ein biographisches Lexikon.'' (Hg. mit Dieter Hoffmann und Jan Wielgohs) Ch. Links Verlag: 2000/2007/2010
* ''Bündnis 90. Entstehung – Entwicklung – Perspektiven.'' Berlin 1992 (Mithrsg.)
* ''Was will die Bürgerbewegung?'' Augsburg 1993 (Hrsg.)
* ''Wer war wer in der DDR? 2146 Biographien zur DDR-Geschichte. Ein elektronisches Lexikon unter Windows.'' (Hg. mit Bernd-Rainer Barth
Bernd-Rainer Barth (born East Berlin 1957) is a German historian of the modern period.
Life
The son of an East German diplomat, Barth spent a large part of his early life in Hungary, studying between 1977 and 1983 at the Eötvös Loránd Universit ...
, Christoph Links
Christoph is a male given name and surname. It is a German variant of Christopher.
Notable people with the given name Christoph
* Christoph Bach (1613–1661), German musician
* Christoph Büchel (born 1966), Swiss artist
* Christoph Dientzenh ...
und Jan Wielgohs), 1995
* ''Inoffizielle Mitarbeiter des Ministeriums für Staatssicherheit. Teil 1: Richtlinien und Durchführungsbestimmungen.'' (Hg.) Ch. Links Verlag: Berlin 1996
''Inoffizielle Mitarbeiter des Ministeriums für Staatssicherheit. Teil 2: Anleitung für die Arbeit mit Agenten, Kundschaftern und Spionen in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland.''
(Hrsg.) Ch. Links Verlag: Berlin 1998
''Inoffizielle Mitarbeiter des Ministeriums für Staatssicherheit. Teil 3: Statistiken.''
(in collaboration with Susanne Muhle) Ch. Links Verlag: Berlin 2007
* ''Das Fanal. Das Opfer des Pfarrers Brüsewitz und die evangelische Kirche (zus. mit Heike Schmoll und Wolfgang Stock).'' Frankfurt/Main 1993 (2. Aufl. Münster 1999)
* ''Das Gesicht dem Westen zu … DDR-Spionage gegen die Bundesrepublik Deutschland.'' Bremen 2003 (Hrsg. gem. mit Georg Herbstritt) (3. Aufl. 2006)
* ''Rechts und links der Demokratie. Extremisten zur Landtagswahl 2004'', (zus. mit Jonas Grutzpalk), Landesamt für Verfassungsschutz, Potsdam 2004.
* ''Die Nachrichtendienstschule. Der I. Kursus der Schule des Instituts für wirtschaftswissenschaftliche Forschung (IWF).'' (Hefte zur DDR-Geschichte, Hrsg. vom Verein Helle Panke) Berlin 2006
* ''Geheimhaltung und Transparenz. Demokratische Kontrolle der Geheimdienste im internationalen Vergleich.'' Münster 2006 (zus. Hrsg. mit Wolbert K. Smidt, Ulrike Poppe and Wolfgang Krieger)
* ''"Rosenholz". Eine Quellenkritik.'' (Hrsg. von der BStU) Berlin 2007
* ''Intelligence-Service Psychology.'' Frankfurt/Main 2008 (Mithrsg.)
* ''Die inoffiziellen Mitarbeiter.'' Berlin 2008, .
* ''Sicherheit in Organisationen.'' Frankfurt/Main 2009 (Mithrsg.)
* ''Das Institut für Wirtschaftswissenschaftliche Forschung und die Anfänge der DDR-Spionage.'' (Hefte zur DDR-Geschichte, Hrsg. vom Verein Helle Panke) Berlin 2010
* ''East German Foreign Intelligence: Myth, Reality and Controversy.'' Routledge: London 2010 (zus. Hg. mit Thomas Wegener Friis, Kristie Macrakis)
* ''Die Kreisdienststelle Eisenach und ihr inoffizielles Netz.'' (Hrsg. von der Thüringer Landesbeauftragten für Stasi-Unterlagen) Erfurt 2010.
* ''Schriftenreihe „Studies in Intelligence Collection and Intelligence Analysis“'' im Verlag Polizeiwissenschaft. Frankfurt/Main (seit 2008).
''Hauptverwaltung A (HV A)''
(Hrsg. von der BStU) Berlin 2011.
* ''Die Kreisdienststelle Greiz und ihr inoffizielles Netz'' (Hrsg. von der Thüringer Landesbeauftragten für Stasi-Unterlagen). Erfurt 2011.
* ''Der allmächtige Geheimdienst - Ein Relikt der Vergangenheit? Zur Transformation der Geheimdienste Mittel- und Osteuropas nach 1990'' (zus. hrsg. mit Wolbert K. Smidt, Irina Mohr). Lit, Berlin, Münster 2012, .
* ''Die Kreisdienststelle Meiningen des Staatssicherheitsdienstes. Eine Handreichung zur regionalen Aufarbeitung'' (together with Tom Pleiner). Berlin 2012.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Muller-Enbergs, Helmut
Political science writers
German political scientists
20th-century German historians
1960 births
Living people
German male non-fiction writers
University of Michigan people