Main Directorate for Reconnaissance

Main Directorate for Reconnaissance
Hauptverwaltung Aufklärung (HVA)
Agency overview
FormedNovember 1955 (1955-11)
Dissolved13 January 1990 (1990-01-13)[1]
TypeSecret police, Intelligence agency
HeadquartersLichtenberg, East Berlin, East Germany
Parent agencyMinistry of State Security

The Main Directorate for Reconnaissance[2] (German: Hauptverwaltung Aufklärung; German: HVA, German pronunciation: [haːfaʊ̯ˈaː] ) was the foreign intelligence service of the Ministry of State Security (Stasi), the main security agency of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany), from 1955 to 1990.

The HVA was an integral part of the Stasi, responsible for operations outside of East Germany such as espionage, active measures, foreign intelligence gathering, and counterintelligence against NATO-aligned countries and their intelligence agencies.

The Stasi was disbanded in January 1990 and the HVA's mode of operation was revealed to the public, including its internal structure, methods, and employees. The HVA became the subject of broad interest and intensive research under the responsibilities of the Federal Commissioner for the Stasi Records. The HVA is regarded by some as the most effective foreign intelligence service during the Cold War and the second largest after Soviet Union's intelligence forces. It provided up to 80 percent of all information about NATO countries before the Warsaw Pact, according to the CIA.[3]

  1. ^ Vilasi, Antonella Colonna (9 March 2015). The History of the Stasi. AuthorHouse. ISBN 9781504937054 – via Google Books.
  2. ^ "Overview – Ministry of State Security". bstu.bund.de. Federal Commissioner for the Stasi Records. Retrieved 2014-06-27.
  3. ^ Rappaport, Sarah. "Take A Look At These Creepy Cold War Images From The East German Stasi's Archives". Business Insider. Retrieved 2021-08-18.

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