Gestapo, Stasi Deja Vu: Germany Investigates NSA Ties

Germany launches probe into US spying ties ~ July 22, 2013, The Local: Germany's News in English

Snowden's claims about the NSA's PRISM programme to capture and store email, phone and other communication data have angered many in Germany, where the notion of state surveillance triggers dark memories of snooping by the Nazis' Gestapo and communist East Germany's Stasi.

Documents provided by Edward Snowden indicate the US provided Germany with NSA internet spyware, XKeyscore, which a spokesperson for the BfV (Bundesamt Für Verfassungsschutz, Germany's federal office for defending the Constitution) claimed Germany only tested.  (Hmm, that's like a pot smoker saying he didn't inhale.)

'Key Partners': Secret Links Between Germany and the NSA ~ July 22, 2013, SPIEGEL ONLINE

The US hosted a field trip for a dozen Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND), Germany's CIA, agents to visit the NSA this past spring.

BND President Gerhard Schindler repeatedly expressed an "eagerness" to cooperate more closely with the NSA. The Germans, the document reads, were looking for "guidance and advice."

Angela Merkel: NSA snooping claims 'extremely serious' ~ July 3, 2013, The Guardian.

"If these reports are confirmed in the course of our investigations, we will be looking at an extremely serious incident," she said. "Using bugs to listen in on friends in our embassies and EU representations is not on. The cold war is over. There is no doubt whatsoever that the fight against terrorism is essential, and it needs to harness intelligence about what happens online, but nor is there any doubt that things have to be kept proportionate. That is what guides Germany in talks with our partners."

The German chancellor grew up in communist East Germany, where citizens were the victims of widespread spying by the notorious state secret police, the Stasi. Its sophisticated espionage techniques in the days before the internet or mobile phones included bottling the scents of those suspected of being anti-regime.

This revelation that the BND was working hand in glove with the NSA exposes Prime Minister Merkel, who is up for reelection, as either a complete hypocrite or completely clueless for proclaiming shock when Snowden blew the whistle on the NSA for spying on Germany.