E. Archival collections of the Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff (ZS GŠ)
The Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff (ZS GŠ) was the only intelligence service not organized under the Ministry of the Interior, but instead under the command of the Czechoslovak People’s Army (ČSLA), in which it was the only organ authorized to issue information about NATO armies to governing organs. After 1948, it was built on the Soviet model of the GRU. Its tasks consisted mainly of acquiring and evaluating intelligence information and managing the work of residenturas and military and air force attachés abroad. It processed analyses of military and political situations in places of interest, directed the development of intelligence technology, created cipher keys, deciphered enemy ciphers, etc. The Czechoslovak military intelligence service was evaluated very highly; for instance, in 1968 it produced 55% of the Category I (intelligence of high importance) intelligence acquired by the various military intelligence services of the then Warsaw Pact countries.
Non-operative documents created in the course of ZS GŠ activities from the years 1951-1990 comprise 351 archival cartons. They contain, for example, internal orders of the ZS GŠ chief, minutes from meetings, memoranda, clerks’ notebooks, logbooks of files, work plans, plans for investigation and surveillance, teaching materials, etc.
| Title | Record Group | Time Range | Inventory | Location | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff (Zpravodajská správa Generálního štábu) | 1951-1990 | Department of Intelligence and Military Counterintelligence Operative Dossiers | 75.9 running meters |