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Détente from Below:
The Stasi and the Dutch Peace Movement
by BEATRICE DE GRAAF

Abstract

The East German Staatssicherheitsdienst – usually referred to as "Stasi" – in its so-called "West-Arbeit" was not only active in regard to the Federal Republic of Germany, but also towards the small Kingdom of the Netherlands.
During a period when the Cold War returned to icy conditions (1979-1983) the East German Politburo and the Stasi unleashed a campaign to influence Dutch public opinion against the impending deployment of new NATO missiles due to NATO’s double track decision in 1979. East German communists used the openings of détente and funded the Dutch peace movement. However successful the East German campaign was in the beginning, they experienced a heavy setback. The largest Dutch peace organisation, the Dutch Interchurch Peace Council (Interkerkelijk Vredesberaad – IKV) decided to also campaign against the SS-20 missiles as well as against the repression of independent peace activist in the GDR itself. The IKV tried to establish an international peace platform that superseded the Cold War blocks, the so-called Dresdner Friedensforum, in 1982.
The article explains the IKV’s initiative and its background, deals with the Stasi’s attitude towards the IKV, describes the methods the Stasi used in its "West-Arbeit" against the Nether-lands, and discusses the effects of these methods.