I’m sure that KSA’s secret police are as brutal and nasty as the Stasi, but the East Germans really set the standard (in some cases literally – a lot of the visitors to the HQ were coming there to learn) in creating a police state during the 20th century. Only the Gestapo exceeded them in terms of brutal efficiency and creating a sense of pervasive paranoia and mutual mistrust amongst the citizenry.
The movie “The Lives of Others” gives a very accurate picture (according to those who lived under the regime) of the atmosphere of everyday fear and dread that the Stasi created in the country.
