First Class Comrades

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 perspective: 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.

Boulter's thorough research provides an excellent reference for understanding how the Stasi began and how it fulfilled its responsibilities - Kevin Riehle, author of The Russian FSB

A fascinating deep dive into the murky waters of Cold War espionage and the early days of East Germany's notorious secret police - Nick Rennison

An impressive work...Boulter really widens the perspective on the Stasi - Dieter Bacher, Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for War Studies