30C3: Die überwachte Bundesrepublik | heise online
30C3: Die überwachte Bundesrepublik | heise online
30c3: The monitored Federal Republic
Josef Foschepoth on the 30th Chaos Communication Congress in Hamburg. 
Picture: The H / Detlef Borchers
The Federal Republic of Germany is not a sovereign state on whose territory the Basic Law applies fully, the historian Josef Foschepoth said on Saturday at the 30c3 in the crowded main hall of the Hamburg Congress Centrum. Starting from the occupation of Germany by the four victorious powers they had at the end of the Occupation Statute in 1955 laid down the broad supervision of the postal and telecommunications in secret agreements. These agreements were in 1968 with the emergency laws and in 1990 with the Two-Plus-Four Treaty modified without ever having been abolished Foschepoths requirement that all relevant safety legislation need to be reviewed, received great critical acclaim, as well as the call for a kind Gauck authority for the FRG-time.
Joint Venture
Between German and U.S. intelligence services there since 1968, a well-functioning joint venture in which German authorities as a partner from 1968 at the latest monitoring tasks took over that were previously reserved for the Allies. Simultaneously's geopolitical and geostrategic role of Germany that the partner was defined during the Cold War as a target of the world power America. It is said to have not changed, according to Foschepoth: To date, Germany will politically, militarily and economically spying. The außerdentlich matt protest the Federal Government against the monitoring of the Merkel-Phones Foschepoth evaluated as an indication that the Chancellor the importance of the secret agreement was aware.
"We were able to pin down the Germans on this point."
Picture: The H / Detlef Borchers During a search in the Bundesarchiv Koblenz the Freiburg historian happens to be a file called postal censorship in 1951 fell into the hands in which the history of the Surveillance of Post and Telecommunications was shown. Foschepoth needed a special permit from the Ministry of the Interior and an advanced security check of the constitutional protection for the evaluation of the Act and other related documents. He published the results of his research in the book Monitored Germany , which is now published in its second edition: The controversial topic interests Germany, although Foschepoth, could not evaluate the German secret only the holdings of the federal government.
Meticulous postage statements
On the 30c3 Foschepoth showed using historical maps, where and how the postal and telecommunications traffic was monitored. First, by the Allies, and later by German postal workers who helped in monitoring the mail that was sent to the GDR. Based on the meticulous Porto accounts seized mailings reconstructed Foschepoth that 1955-1972 a total of 110 million letters was evaluated. This was made possible because Foreign Minister Adenauer in 1955, after some resistance in the Treaty on the stationing of troops the Allies "reserved rights" guaranteed, protected the foreign intelligence agencies before the prosecution. "We were able to pin down the Germans on this point", according to a document presented by Foschepoth. Later, these special rights were renewed in the course of emergency laws, but also extended to German authorities, with the G10-law got a sniffer free letter. Foschepoth played before an excerpt from a speech by the former Chancellor Willy Brandt, the amazingly resembled today's reassurances in the NSA affair in tone and characteristic style.
"We need for the FRG a kind Gauck authority".
Picture: The H / Detlef Borchers Because these special rights were not terminated with the reunification of the two German State halves, domestic and befriended secret to effective control in Germany are withdrawn, which could take legal action against surveillance measures, explained Foschepoth. He called to great acclaim a test bench to be examined on the deal on their unconstitutionality out. Especially the undemocratic G10-law must be democratically legitimized revised after a general public discussion. In the very short question and answer session about his lecture Foschepoth reported from the immense difficulties in obtaining access to documents in the intelligence community. "We need some kind Gauck authority for the Federal Republic of Germany", which enhances the analysis of German surveillance history. For this too there was great applause. (Detlef Borchers) / ( vbr )
