Safe house

Safe House is the general term for a mostly private apartment, not primarily for the purpose of homely accommodation, but another, mostly illegal or intelligence, is the purpose.

Because of the terrorist attacks in connection with the kidnapping of Hanns Martin Schleyer by the RAF in 1977, Safe House was voted word of the year 1978.

Organized Crime and General

These apartments are rented by terrorists, for example, to prepare for illegal actions. Since these actions can be described as conspiratorial, its name derives probably from even the word conspiracy.

Intelligence

On the other hand, also apartments rented by intelligence agencies are so named when they serve the purpose of surveillance of suspects or as a base for specific actions. So resident using conspiratorial apartments in the same house opponents often be identified. Likewise conspiracy dwellings be used for meetings between senior officers and their agents. In addition, apartments for temporary accommodation of witnesses could be called " Safe House ".

The Ministry for State Security (Stasi ) of the former GDR used a variety of conspiratorial apartments. For the owners of these apartments, it was mostly to reliable comrades as IMK - a special form of informal workforce - advertised, and were paid for the use of the apartment or room. The MfS this, preferably selected apartments in the middle floors of homes with high traffic. Even in public DDR institutions, such as universities, the Stasi maintained its own premises, which were used for clandestine meetings.

Publications

• Heinrich Best / Joachim Heinrich / Heinz Mestrup (ed.): Secret meeting places of the Stasi in Erfurt, Thuringia LStU 2006.
• Taz ( The daily ): History - the long list of former Stasi objects, Reprint of 20 June 1990.