STÖBERHAI. The site of a major Cold War listening post maintained
by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the Stöberhai is a moun-
tain in the Harz range in the north of West Germany. The facility
was constructed primarily to counter the installation at the Brocken,
located only several kilometers away in the German Democratic
Republic (GDR). In 1957, the Bundeswehr built the initial facility,
which saw several expansions during the next decades, including
an underground atomic bomb shelter. The main 70-meter concrete
tower, rising from a 16-story building, began operation in late Febru-
ary 1967. The chief priority was ascertaining troop movements of the
Warsaw Pact (knowledge of the 1968 invasion of Czechoslovakia
was gained prior to the event) as well as projected military targets
in the West. Flight training also figured as an important prerequisite
for those charged with monitoring radio transmissions. Because of
the added presence of French military personnel, contact with West
Berlin could be maintained, which was otherwise barred to the armed
forces of the Federal Republic of Germany.
The distinctive architectural form of the Stöberhai listening
post was repeated in facilities along the border with the GDR and
Czechoslovakia. They became known by their identifying initial: A
(Klaustorf ), B (Thurauer Berg), C (Stöberhai), E (Schneeberg), and
F (Hoher Bogen). Although a costly modernization project was
undertaken immediately after German reunification, authori-
ties decided to close the Stöberhai facility permanently in 1992.
It soon fell into disrepair, and on 25 September 2005 the tower
was officially demolished by a large quantity of explosives. One
year later, a memorial plaque was dedicated at the site. See also
TEUFELSBERG.
STOEBER, KARL-HEINZ. An Illegaler (covert operative) dis-
patched to the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) by the Verwal-
tung Aufklärung (VA), Karl-Heinz Stoeber was a native of Dresden.
In 1965, Stoeber assumed the identity of Heinz Dieter Pichtotka and
spent nearly two years in Finland in preparation for the assignment.
After obtaining genuine identity papers from the West German em-
bassy in Helsinki, Stoeber, posing as a trained physicist, entered the
FRG and settled in the Ruhr region. Further cover was provided by
membership in right-wing political organizations. Stoeber’s reports
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