Although prostitution in East Germany was outlawed in , it was partially tolerated thereafter. A quotation from Uta Falck summarises prostitution in the GDR as follows: "In the GDR, all parties benefited from prostitution: the rich women, the satisfied suitors, the informed state. So much satisfaction it will hardly ever be more in this industry. After the Second World War , prostitution served primarily to secure a livelihood.
Street prostitutes were far less likely to suffer violence than in other countries, partly because pimps were not part of the system. Sick prostitutes were usually assigned to care homes and closed hospital departments to treat the disease and try and change their lifestyle. Forced examinations of mainly female guests of entertainment venues as well as employees of the state health authorities and the police were carried out to stem the spread of sexually transmitted diseases.
From the mids, prostitution was seen as incompatible with the socialist image of women. An attempt was made to persuade prostitutes to take up a regular job through intimidation or instruction in "homes for social care". This led to many part-time prostitutes. After the Berlin wall was built in , the authorities thought that total isolation from the West would cause prostitution to disappear. Although prostitution was banned, it was tolerated, especially in hotels used by visiting foreigners, particularly in Leipzig Leipzig Trade Fair [ 7 ] and Rostock Rostock harbor.
Starting in the late s, prostitutes were used by the Ministry of State Security to collect information. After German reunification prostitution became legal. Prostitutes moved freely around the unified Germany. In addition, the deliberate spread of sexually transmitted diseases was punishable by imprisonment of up to three years. In addition, the promotion and exploitation of prostitution was criminalised. From the late s, the Ministry of State Security Stasi used both male and female prostitutes to gather information.
The fact that prostitution was banned was exploited by state security to encourage women to work for them as informers. The women would still be paid by the clients and they would also be paid for information. Working for the Stasi also gave the women security.
