Secret services: The BVT - a faulty construction?

The German Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, which was intended to be a model for the Austrian BVT (Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution and the Fight against Terrorism), is not a police authority. The separation of police and intelligence services is deeply rooted in post-war Germany and dates back to the so-called "Police Letter" from the Allied Military Governors of 1949. ADDENDUM on the history and founding mistakes of the BVT.

The German government was allowed, among other things, to "establish a body for the collection and dissemination of information about subversive activities directed against the federal government". And further: "This body shall not have police powers." The aim is to prevent the formation of an authority with the powers of the Gestapo.

The KPÖ and the State Police

In Austria, there is no such ban. This is partly due to the fact that the State Police was founded relatively quickly in 1945. On the other hand, one occupying power had a particular interest in the activities of the Stapo: the Soviet Union.

In 1945, about 1,500 KPÖ (Communist Party of Austria) members joined the police force, a good number of them as criminal investigators or state police officers. However, the new state employees evaded the control of the Ministry of the Interior. The dismissal of officers who did not comply with instructions was blocked by the Soviets.

The State Security, an intelligence service with police powers, was considered an extension of the Russians. It was only Interior Minister Oskar Helmer who succeeded in gradually reining in the Stapo. Its leader, the KPÖ functionary Heinrich Dürmayer, was transferred to Salzburg. The State Police remained what it was: a hybrid of intelligence and police service.

Austria's Bought Services

During the Cold War, the Stapo was infiltrated by the Czechoslovak intelligence service as well as by the Stasi. At the height of foreign espionage activities in Austria, 250 State Police officers were said to have faced 5,000 foreign agents.

Listening to the East: Königswarte listening station.

In addition, the Army Intelligence Office (HNaA), along with the Defense Counterintelligence Agency (AA), one of the two military intelligence services, had active exchanges with the West. Among other things, they eavesdropped, under a unique interpretation of neutrality, for the Americans from the Königswarte (image above) on the Eastern Bloc.

The fact that maintaining a secret intelligence service in this country is only illegal if it is directed against Austria ensured a certain brokerage role for the domestic services for a long time. With the end of this era, they show themselves, as security researcher Thomas Riegler points out, overwhelmed to this day. Stagnant personnel numbers contribute to the quality. Riegler therefore calls for a comprehensive reform of state security.

From Stapo to BVT

The end of the Stapo came with a reform by the first Black-Blue coalition. It was merged with the Task Force for Combating Terrorism (EBT) and the state police service to form the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution and the Fight against Terrorism (BVT). The BVT is part of Section II: Directorate General for Public Security (GDföS) of the Ministry of the Interior. In addition, there are nine State Offices for the Protection of the Constitution and the Fight against Terrorism (LVT), which, however, are organizationally assigned to the respective State Police Directorates - and thus security authorities - according to.

This serves purely as an intelligence service for threat research. According to the law, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution "does not have police powers or authority to give directives". It "may not request police assistance for measures to which it is not authorized".

The Separation

The German Office for the Protection of the Constitution can transmit data to law enforcement authorities, but can refrain from doing so if "overriding security interests require it". The Austrian BVT, on the other hand, is an investigative authority. It must report criminally relevant actions to the Public Prosecutor's Office.

This is exactly where the crux lies: foreign services are not always pleased when their data appears in investigative files that every defendant has access to. This significantly weakens, regardless of political influences, the international position of the BVT.

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ADDENDUM Article Series BVT:

Introduction on SPARTANAT: BVT in Austria: How broken was the intelligence service?

Part 1: The BVT - A Misconstruction?

Part 2: Austrian Agent with an Agenda

Part 3: The "Chief Spy" who came from the Party

Part 4: Agent Gridling - the other BVT affair

More to come ...

This article was first published on ADDENDUM. Copyright Text & Image: ADDENDUM.

ADDENDUM online: www.addendum.org