Verfassungsschutz
From Biocrawler, the free encyclopedia.
Verfassungsschutz (Constitution Protection) is the short name for any of Germany's federal and state-based secret services for the interior. The most prominent (and well-funded) example is the federal Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz (Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution). However, due to the federal structure of Germany, individual states (Bundesländer) have their own internal secret services. Coordination between the different services is an ongoing problem.
Presidents
- 1950 - 1954 Otto John
- 1955 - 1972 Hubert Schrübbers
- 1972 - 1975 Günther Nollau
- 1975 - 1982 Richard Meier
- 1983 - 1985 Heribert Hellenbroich
- 1985 - 1987 Ludwig-Holger Pfahls he submerged in July 1999, an international arrest warrant was issued
- 1987 - 1991 Gerhard Boeden
- 1991 - 1995 Eckart Werthebach
- 1995 - 1997 Hansjörg Geiger
- 1997 - 2000 Peter Frisch
- since 2000 Heinz Fromm
Duties and responsibilities
The main job of the Verfassungsschutz is to observe organizations that are considered a threat to the "Free and democratic basic order" (Freiheitlich-demokratische Grundordnung) of the Federal Republic of Germany. While they do use all kinds of surveillance technology and infiltration, most of their information is assembled from publications of the observed organizations. The information is compiled into yearly reports (Verfassungsschutzbericht) which are made available to the public; presumably there are more detailed, non-public reports given to the governments. The Verfassungsschutz has no enforcement authority or capability - when it gains information about crimes being committed or planned, it must rely on police or prosecutors to deal with the perpetrators.
The organizations being currently observed by the Verfassungsschutz fall into the following groups:
- Right-wing political extremists (mainly Neo-Nazis, including the NPD and DVU political parties)
- Left-wing political extremists (including the PDS political party)
- Extremist organizations of foreigners living in Germany (most prominently islamist terrorists)
- Scientology (considered by the German government an authoritarian, anti-democratic commercial organization rather than a religion)
Some of the Verfassungsschutz organizations have been given additional jobs by specific laws, such as the protection of government-related classified information, the monitoring of foreign secret services, or the monitoring of organized crime.
External link
- Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (http://www.verfassungsschutz.de/en/index_en.html)
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