subsequently took a negative stance toward both the SED regime and
the West German policy of Ostpolitik.SEKTOR WISSENSCHAFT UND TECHNIK (SWT). The chief
unit for the acquisition of scientific and economic intelligence for
the Hauptverwaltung Aufklärung (HVA), the Sektor Wissenschaft
und Technik (Science and Technology Sector) grew dramatically
under the initial leadership of Heinrich Weiberg and received its
official designation in 1971. Weiberg was replaced in 1975 by Horst
Vogel. By the time of its dissolution in 1989, it had some 500 staff
members as well as nearly 40 percent of the HVA’s foreign agents,
thus underscoring the high priority placed on obtaining new tech-
nology from the West in defiance of the trade embargo on dual-use
exports. Also privy to this information was a KGB liaison officer
based in Karlshorst. As a result, no Eastern bloc country delivered
as much stolen scientific data to the Soviet Union as the German
Democratic Republic.
Whereas Weiberg’s first group possessed scant scientific expertise
and focused on developing operations abroad, the addition of an
evaluation section in 1962 marked the evolution to a more profes-
sional staff. The construction of the Berlin Wall the previous year
also had a significant impact, giving the biannual Leipzig Trade Fair
added importance as a recruiting ground for visiting Western scien-
tists and engineers.
The achievements of the SWT were considerable. Markus Wolf
considered the reestablishment of the renowned optical firm Carl
Zeiss Jena “a child of the HVA.” Moreover, well-placed spies, such
as Dieter Feuerstein, delivered critical material from major defense-
related firms in the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG). At the same
time, its failures included the feverish attempt to produce a one-mega-
byte computer chip during the 1980s. Ultimately, despite its ambitious
goals and the many contributions of SWT agents, the GDR economy
could not overcome its structural impediments to innovation and pro-
duction and compete successfully at the international level.
The extensive penetration of the FRG by the SWT was first con-
firmed in January 1979 by a former officer, Werner Stiller. Another
important defector in April 1990 was Frank Weiglet, an officer re-
sponsible for rocket science in the military technology subsection.
416 • SEKTOR WISSENSCHAFT UND TECHNIK