Partizipation an der Macht. Zur Motivlage Inoffizieller Mitarbeiter des Ministeriums für Staatssicherheit an den Theologischen Fakultäten der DDR

The Ministry of State Security (MfS) of the former German Democratic Republic (GDR) tried to exert conspirative and political influence, particularly on the church and theological faculties. The article develops a typology of unofficial employees of the MfS, putting their conspirative activity into the context of the political circumstances in the GDR. This is done using the example of the Leipzig church historian Kurt Meier, focusing on the relationship between the objective of science and politics.