Theory, practice and consequences of Operative Psychology

PR-Abstract Theory, practice and consequences of Operative Psychology (P 33103) Project leader: Ass.-Prof. Dr. Dr. Martin Wieser, martin.wieser@sfu-berlin.de From 1965 until 1990 a subject was taught at the Juridical High School (a secret training centre for officers of the Ministry of State Security in the GDR) which officially never existed: Operative Psychology. More than a dozen members of the institute (many of whom had previously studied psychology in public universities in the GDR) researched and taught methods to identify and monitor "hostile-negative forces" (e.g., citizens who were active in the opposition), to fight the class enemy (e.g., through the so-called methods of "disintegration"), techniques of interrogation, and methods to "win" unofficial informants. Many thousand pages of documents that were created by the members of the institute are now archived at the Federal Ministry for the documents of the Stasi. For the first time this projects addresses the question which psychological terms, theories and models have played a particularly important role in operative psychology on a science-historical level, and how this role changed over the course of time. In addition to the archival investigation about the historical roots of operative psychology, this project also aims to shed light on the consequences of political persecution in the GDR in the present from a psychological-biographical perspective. Supported by Berlin-based counselling centres who help former victims of political persecution, biographical interviews will be conducted with individuals and groups who were affected by operative "action plans". They are supposed to be given the opportunity to voice their personal experiences and memories of traumatising and conflictual events, of powerlessness and guilt, but also of empowerment, solidarity and resistance, in order to not only become visible as a victim of the circumstances they lived in but also as actors of their own biography. The synthesis of scientific-historical and biographical research methods not only represents a novelty in the context of the hitherto little-researched complex of operative psychology, but also aims to contribute to the controversial and emotional collective culture of remembrance in reunified Germany. By analysing the historical roots, the theoretical, institutional and practical structure as well as the consequences of political persecution in the GDR, we hope to contribute to the present effects of political traumatization in reunited Germany.

The research project "Theory, Practice and Consequences of Operative Psychology" was carried out under the direction of Univ.-Prof. Dr. Dr. Martin Wieser, supported by two scientific assistants and two student assistants, at Sigmund Freud Private University Berlin from July 2020 to December 2024. The project focused on the theoretical foundations, institutional development and practical consequences of "Operative Psychology". This teaching area and field of research was established in 1965 at the secret Juridical Academy Potsdam, the largest training facility of the Ministry of State Security of the GDR, and existed until the beginning of 1990. On the basis of research in the Stasi Records Archive and university archives as well as the analysis of published writings on GDR history, the project team investigated the emergence and development of psychological knowledge in the context of the GDR secret service and the central areas of responsibility of the members of the Institute of Operative Psychology. The most important topics identified were the selection and management of officers, the recruitment and guidance of informants, the planning and conduct of interrogations, and the infiltration and dismantling of opposition groups. Several thousand pages of learning and training booklets, diploma theses, dissertations and personnel files, in combination with interviews with former members of the secret service, revealed the attempt to systematize psychological knowledge, to identify common mistakes and to make the "operational" work of the secret service more effective. Parallel to the archival research, more than 60 biographical and thematically focused interviews were conducted with contemporary witnesses from the former GDR in order to highlight the consequences of state repression from the perspective of those affected, which continue to the present day. A contextualised and historical perspective on psychological suffering was introduced through the concept of "sequential traumatisation". Within this framework, the actuality and conflictual experience of the opening of the Stasi archive, the struggle for financial compensation and public recognition of the long-term suffering caused by political persecution after 1989 became visible. Results were published in scientific journals, edited volumes and a traveling exhibition, which was on display at the site of the former Juridical Academy (which today is used by the Faculty of Psychology of the University of Potsdam) and the Sigmund Freud University Berlin. In addition to presentations at scientific conferences, the results of the research project were made available to a wider public in conferences and gatherings of former victims of political persecution as well as podcasts (see https://psychologie.sfu-berlin.de/de/forschung/operative-psychologie/). The results of this project are not just of relevance for reflecting the moral dimension of psychological research and practice in dictatorships, but also concern how psychologists address and support the victims of state persecution and repression in the present.