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The Unplanned Society: Poland during and after Communism. Ed. Janine R. Wedel. New York: Columbia University Press, 1992. 271 pp. Index. $35.00, hard bound.

The report contained in this book is in large part text and commentary, but with numerous documents, tables and a few photos every dozen or so pages. It is organized into five chapters: "The End of the State Security System in Rostock," "Interrelationships Between the Socialist Unity Party and the MfS," "Foci of Surveillance," "Instruments of Surveillance and Repression" and "The Finances of the MfS." Some of the more interesting findings include the numbers of people working for the District Office: 3,686 full-time staff and 9,263 "informal collaborators" ("Informelle Mitarbeiter"), that is, informants. There were 858 IM in Rostock alone. The MfS was not only concerned about foreign espionage by "imperialist" forces, "negative" behavior and speech regarding the communist regime and its allies, and so forth; it also concerned itself with the romantic relationships between citizens, especially youth, and foreigners. Its focus on youth was made clear by its support of the "Free Democratic Youth" (FDJ), its reports on skinheads and other similar groups, school activities and students at the two universities in the district, Rostock and Greifswald. Indeed, 232 IM were found to be at the first, and 100 at the second, institution. Checks on students were especially likely in certain disciplines, e.g. law and medicine. In some cases students would be extorted into working as IM in return for permission to continue their studies. The documents also reveal that the relationship that the University of Rostock had with Brown University was closely supervised by the MfS. In spite of the often good relations between the Stasi and the Lutheran Church, there was a general distrust of everyone connected with the church and the church was a typical target of surveillance. Mail was not only frequently opened, especially if it was to or from a foreign country; if cash were discovered in an envelope, it was confiscated and sent to Berlin. The letters would be destroyed and the recipients would not be notified. Toward the end of the regime, domestic mail was subjected to increasing surveillance in order to ascertain public sentiment. Not surprisingly, the MfS exercised considerable control over foreign travel. Each enterprise or scientific facility "developed" a core of "Reisekader," or travel cadre, who would submit reports on their travels and contacts to the MfS after their return. IM would travel along just in case. Hotel personnel and tour guides were also connected with the MfS and many hotel rooms were bugged for "special guests." Indeed, hotel rooms and churches were the most frequently bugged places. One of the most sinister items discovered consisted of plans for the internment in special camps of "negative forces" in cases of widespread unrest. Lists of persons were discovered who were to be rounded up, including non-voters (!), Jehovah Witnesses (long-time targets), pastors whose behavior was "negative," draft resisters, those who had applied for exit visas or who had expressed preference for life in the FRG, etc. This is not, then, a typical work of scholarship but rather a source book with some helpful commentary. It would be of great value to one interested in the secret services of eastern Europe before the collapse of the Wall. It would probably be a good idea, however, to read first a more general book on the MfS before turning to the book reviewed here on Rostock. A good start would be Das Ministerium fur Stoatssicherheit: Anatomie des Mielke-Imperiums by David Gill and Ulrich Schroter, 1991.