> Well, to be fair, the STASI was more extreme in many respects. Sure, we are talking about one of many components of why the Stasi are maligned. Basically th

> Well, to be fair, the STASI was more extreme in many respects. Sure, we are talking about one of many components of why the Stasi are maligned. Basically this is not a "Hitler was a vegetarian; you're a vegetarian" type of scenario. Rather this is a "Hitler wrote a book blaming Jews for everything; you wrote a book blaming Jews for everything" scenario. Yes, writing an anti-semitic book is by no means Hitler's greatest crime, it barely even ranks on that list; but you can be sure it is very central to the reasons that he is maligned. In other words, harassment by the Stasi is not an incidental attribute of the Stasi. It is one of many defining attributes of what the Stasi were.