Eröffnung der Sonderausstellung: Im Objektiv der Staatsmacht

In the organizer's words:

Soccer fans in the sights of the Stasi and People's Police

In the GDR, soccer was not only a socially influential mass phenomenon - it was also a place of state control. The exhibition shows how soccer fans in the GDR were monitored, harassed
and criminalized - and how fan stands simultaneously became spaces for criticism, subculture and youthful protest. With photos, file extracts and contemporary testimonies, some of which have never been shown before, the outdoor exhibition sheds light on the strategies and practices of surveillance.

Dr. René Wiese, historian and curator of the exhibition, will provide the thematic introduction with a keynote speech. Afterwards, contemporary witnesses will describe their personal experiences with soccer, the state and society: Falko Götz, soccer coach and former professional who fled the GDR in 1983, and Jens Fuge, journalist, author and long-time fan of BSG Chemie Leipzig.

We cordially invite you to join us in taking a look at a chapter of German-German history that has been little illuminated to date.

This event marks the opening of the special exhibition of the same name (duration: September 13 - October 19, 2025). Further information about the exhibition can be found here.

Cover picture: Photograph taken with a camouflaged camera: MfS agents working in conspiracy observe BFC Dynamo soccer fans in the mid-1980s in the vicinity of the Friedrich Ludwig Jahn Sports Park.

Price information:

Please book a ticket free of charge.