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Anorak News | Stasi Smell Jars To Catch The Children

Stasi Smell Jars To Catch The Children

by | 14th, August 2007

AFTER reading East German Guards’ License To Kill Women And Children, Anorak recalled a scene in The Lives Of Others where the Stasi listener harnesses a suspect’s scent with cloth and places it in a jar.

And noted this:

After the fall of the Berlin Wall, many astounding revelations came to light about the Stasi, the East German secret police. One of the more bizarre activities the Stasi was found to have engaged in was the collection of Geruchsproben — smell samples — for the benefit of the East German smell hounds. The odors, collected during interrogations using a perforated metal “smell sample chair” or by breaking into people’s homes and stealing their dirty underwear, were stored in small glass jars. Many of the remaining East German smell jars are on display at the Stasi Museum in Berlin. They are also described in Stasiland by Anna Funder.

Cheaper than ID cards…



Posted: 14th, August 2007 | In: Reviews Comment | TrackBack | Permalink