>>508697693
>Why do you think they were so good?
Till the last years of the GDR (early/mid 1980s), the people trusted the Staatssicherheit in general. There weren't even that secret and often acted quite publicly, so everyone was aware. The official members were also open about it, only the unoffical ones worked in secret. And that's the reason why they have been so effective: MfS was present in every part of society, got a lot of help from ordinary citizens and always showed professional behaviour.