Rosenholz files explained

The Rosenholz files are a collection of 381 CD-ROMs containing 280,000 files with information on persons who were sources and targets or employees and helpers in the focus of the Hauptverwaltung Aufklärung (HVA, “Main Directorate for Reconnaissance”), the primary foreign intelligence agency of the former German Democratic Republic (East Germany).^[1] ^[2] ^[3] At the beginning it was thought that the files mostly contain the real names of agents who worked for the HVA in the former West Germany,^[4] but later it became clear that at least 90% of the persons never worked for or with the HVA.^[5] ^[6]

The Rosenholz files ended up in the hands of the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) during the German reunification under unclear circumstances; they were initially analysed by the United States only, but finally returned to Germany in 2003 after long negotiations.^[7] The exact reason for the duration of the negotiations is still debated among scholars.

According to the annals of the former Moscow CIA station chief Milton Bearden, the Rosenholz files were not seized on January 15, 1990, when demonstrators stormed the Ministry of State Security in East Berlin, but instead only when President George H. W. Bush personally contacted the chief of the Berlin CIA station. Bearden later lobbied for the return of the Rosenholz files to the Federal Commissioner for the Stasi Records (German: Der Bundesbeauftragte für die Stasi-Unterlagen, BStU) while CIA station chief in Bonn, and received the German government's Bundesverdienstkreuz (Federal Cross of Merit).

After being returned, the files were checked for mistranslation and other errors by the Stasi Records Agency; since June 2003, the files have in theory been open to the general public and can be viewed following an appropriate request (Antrag auf persönliche Akteneinsicht).^[8] However, because of the unclear compilation of the files, many requests were turned down.

Notes and References

Stasi Files and GDR Espionage Against the West . Bernd . Schäfer . Oslo, Norway . . 1 February 2002 . 0803-1061 . IFS Info 2/2002 . The Foreign Intelligence Files . 7 . https://fhs.brage.unit.no/fhs-xmlui/bitstream/handle/11250/99287/IFSInfo0202%20.pdf#page=6 .
Book: Livingston, Robert Gerald . 5. Rosenholz: Mischa’s files, CIA’s booty . East German Foreign Intelligence: Myth, Reality and Controversy . Kristie . Macrakis . Thomas Wegener . Friis . Helmut . Müller-Enbergs . 2009 . 2010 . 10.4324/9780203873021 . 978-1-135-21450-0 . . . 3rd . Abingdon, United Kingdom . 70–88 . https://books.google.com/books?id=Ec-LAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA70 .
The "Rosenholz-Archives": Myth and Reality . Thomas Wegener . Friis . Helmut . Müller-Enbergs . 1 March 2012 . 25–30 . Centre for Baltic and East European Studies (CBEES)/Södertörn University . Huddinge, Sweden . Anders . Björnsson . Ninna . Mörner . Anu Mai . Köll . 2000-2955 . Baltic Worlds . 1 . 4 .
Karsten . Jedlitschka . The Lives of Others: East German State Security Service's Archival Legacy . 1 . 21 March 2012 . . 75 . 81–108 . 10.17723/aarc.75.1.c6555155715775nq . 0360-9081 . . 1479314 . 03609081 . 40008025 . Gregory S. . Hunter . Chicago, Illinois, United States .
News: Operasi yang Disebut 'Rosenholz' – Bagaimana CIA membeli fail Stasi dengan harga $ 75,000 . Robert Gerald . Livingston . German . An Operation Called 'Rosenholz' – How the CIA bought the Stasi files for $75,000 . 1 March 2006 . The Atlantic Times . https://web.archive.org/web/20120121131330/http://www.atlantic-times.com/archive_detail.php?recordID=451 . 21 January 2012 . dead .
Writing About Espionage Secrets . PDF . 2377-6188 . 2 . 1 . Secrecy and Society . Kristie . Macrakis . 1 September 2018 . 10.31979/2377-6188.2018.020107 . San José State University . 240184987 . San Jose, California, United States . School of Information at SJSU ScholarWorks . Susan . Maret . free .
News: Stasi files row as Britain refuses to return documents to Germany . Helen . Pidd . 1756-3224 . London, United Kingdom . 60623878 . . Alan . Rusbridger . Alan Rusbridger . 28 December 2011 . Berlin, Germany .
Web site: Document Exploitation . 2 January 2012 . Douglas . Cox . Debate Over Return of Stasi "Rosenholz" Files in Britain . 21 February 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120221233751/http://www.docexblog.com/2012/01/debate-over-return-of-stasi-rosenholz.html .