The following contribution to Justice in Conflict’s ongoing symposium was written by Emma J Breeze, Assistant Professor in international criminal law and international humanitarian law at the University of Birmingham. For all of the other submissions, please see here.
Mark Drumbl and Barbora Holá’s Informers Up Close challenges readers to reflect upon themselves through the narratives of the informers of Czechoslovakia during the Communist period (1948-1989). A ubiquitous theme in transitional justice, international criminal law, and legal or other formalised processes that take place before, during and after conflict is dealing with the ‘other’: the vanquished, the victor, the abandoned, the good guy and/or the bad guy. By delving into the State Security Police (StB) archives, Drumbl and Holá bring to life the stories of those who acted as ‘everyday informers’ during the communist-era of Czechoslovakia. In doing so, they challenge the reader to see beyond the label and to see the ‘other’. Far from monolithic and from the ‘vile toxins’ dangerous to the new order, these individuals present a complex picture of humanity. If we were to try and sum up these everyday informers, we could say that their primary commonality is their humanity, the intrinsic aspects of the human condition that make up all of us.
With compassion, Drumbl and Holá present the findings of their archival study. They clearly show how Czechoslovakia’s transitional justice mechanisms failed to truly reflect the nature of informing – i.e., the ‘(e)motions’ presented by the everyday informers, in other words the various motivations that underscored their actions and decisions to inform and on what they chose to disclose. These mechanisms did so by treating informers as a monolithic group, dangerous to ‘the new liberal democracy’. This led to prosecutions, exclusions, lustrations, ostracizations, while the demands for retribution and rehabilitation have been articulated in a largely blanket fashion to those who informed the State Security Secret Police (StB). These actions, based on the ideological and political drivers perceived to be the motivating force of everyday informers, is shown by Drumbl and Holá to be wholly inaccurate. Further, the transparency mantra of transitional justice has, in this case, seen the release of all the files held by the Secret Police (StB) to the public.
The book views this release as a form of cruelty which is inflicted on the informers by making their indiscretions and actions public. It also discusses how the release of files have affected their families, friends and indeed those who were informed upon. The files are described as being filled with notes, comments and details of a personal nature, and whilst the completeness of the information remains in doubt, the impact of these narratives can be deeply distressing for those implicated and their families. This reveals an interesting contrast to the ‘stool pigeons’ operated by the British MI9 during WWII. These individuals, recruited for their language skills, were placed in cells with prisoners of war to gain information on German operations, to play the role of confidante and friend. To this day the stories and identities of these ‘stool pigeons’ remain hidden, whether classified or lost to time. Secrecy has protected those concerned and their families. One wonders if, given the nature of their work for the ‘victors’, these recruited ‘stool pigeons’ would have been treated more as war heroes. In contrast to the Czech informers, these potential ‘heroes’ may have desired greater transparency so that their efforts in the service of the state could be recognised.
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