Selected aspects of the legal regulation and organization of the StB Secret Police between 1945 and 1969

The broad subject of this diploma thesis would be the Czechoslovak Secret Police (StB) during the years 1945-1969; and, more narrowly, certain aspects of its organization and activities in relation to the then applicable legislation. The overriding objective, which was reflected in this legislation, was the protection of the Communist political system, the regime. This regime protection goal clearly influenced the evolution and organization of the StB and the related policies on the imprisonment of those individuals that represented a threat to the State and the State System. Similar general principles and policies have basically remained in effect into the current period. The paper begins with an Introduction and Preface, which take a look at the events and nature of the society in this post-World War II period. This material is derived from an examination of historical source materials. The remainder of the paper is divided into four additional Chapters with related subsections. The Introduction and Preface focus on the nature and state of the society in the immediate post-war period, which provided the context and background used for the development of the new legislation and the newly created institutions developed for the protection of this new social order and the punishment and incarceration..