the United States, Great Britain, Canada, France, Belgium, and the
Netherlands.HAUPTVERWALTUNG AUFKLÄRUNG (HVA). The foreign
intelligence branch of the Ministerium für Staatssicherheit (MfS)
the Hauptverwaltung Aufklärung had its origins in the Aussenpoli-
tischer Nachrichtendienst, which was disguised as the Institute for
Economic Research. Reconstituted as Main Division XV of the MfS
in 1953, it received the designation HVA three years later. Its mis-
sion was twofold: to gather information from abroad; and to work in
coordination with the domestic branches of the MfS in eliminating
opposition to the communist regime of the German Democratic Re-
public. The widespread conviction that all dissident activities could
be traced to the machinations of Western intelligence organizations
reinforced this interlocking relationship between foreign and domes-
tic operations.
By 1989, the HVA had grown to a full-time force of 4,744 in its
East Berlin headquarters and its suboffices in the regional adminis-
trations, although the total number of MfS personnel dealing with
foreign intelligence has been estimated at twice that figure. To a
large extent, it was an elite force, carefully selected for its political
loyalty and higher level of education, which was augmented at the
HVA’s own training school at Gossen. The central complex in the
Lichtenberg district was divided into 21 departments, ranging from
disinformation and counterespionage to the Sektor für Wissen-
schaft und Technik. Skillfully overseeing this vast empire from its
earliest days was Markus Wolf, whose retirement in 1986 brought
Werner Grossmann to the helm. The KGB base in Karlshorst also
maintained a powerful presence, first by dictating the initial modus
operandi and then by insisting on unlimited access to all information
collected.
The HVA extended its reach throughout the world, notably in Af-
rica and the Middle East. But roughly three-quarters of its activities
were concentrated in the Federal Republic of Germany, not only be-
cause of its commanding strategic and economic importance within
Europe but also owing to the greater opportunities for espionage that
a common language and culture provided. The remarkable number
of penetrations throughout the structure of the FRG can be traced
HAUPTVERWALTUNG AUFKLÄRUNG • 167