# Have the shredded Stasi files that were supposed to have been "reassembled"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 21, 2015, 8:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-the-shredded-stasi-files-that-were-supposed-to-have-been-reassembled/718168 "2015-04-21T08:17:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![davidmich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e56c9b/32.png) [@davidmich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidmich)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2015, 8:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-the-shredded-stasi-files-that-were-supposed-to-have-been-reassembled/718168/1 "2015-04-21T08:17:24Z")
Hi, According to Nicholas Basbanes’ excellent book “On Paper” (p. 205) the shredded Stasi files that were stored in 16, 250 trash bags were supposed to have been reassembled, if I can use that word, by the pattern recognition machine ePuzzler by 2012. “It’s designers claimed the scanning device could compose digitized images of whole sheets of paper from fragments by analyzing texture, shape, thickness typeface, outline, and tear configuration”(p. 205) Has that project been completed yet? I look forward to your feedback. davidmich ---
**Author:** ![Mops](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mops/32/16494_2.png) [@Mops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mops)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2015, 9:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-the-shredded-stasi-files-that-were-supposed-to-have-been-reassembled/718168/2 "2015-04-21T09:03:37Z")
According to [this page](http://www.bstu.bund.de/EN/Archives/ReconstructionOfShreddedRecords/VirtualReconstruction/inhalt.html) work is still in progress 1995 - manual reconstruction began 2007 - development of reconstruction software begun 2010 - parliament voted additional funds for software study 2013 - software functionality shown to work since then - 24,000 usable pages recovered 2015 - parliament voted additional funds for speedier, partly automated scanning ---
**Author:** ![Claverhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/13edae/32.png) [@Claverhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claverhouse)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2015, 9:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-the-shredded-stasi-files-that-were-supposed-to-have-been-reassembled/718168/3 "2015-04-21T09:29:17Z")
Dunno, I hope so. But before the Wall came down great things were expected to be revealed by **Trilisser’s Index** , the Chekist Archive of all things KGB ( and possibly GRU ), maintained to the end of the Soviet Union after the unavoidable early death of Meier Abramovich **[Trilisser](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikhail_Trilisser)** in 1940 who began it. Probably mostly card indexes, but extending to millions. After it’s been mostly forgotten, along with most of soviet crimes. ---
**Author:** ![davidmich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e56c9b/32.png) [@davidmich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidmich)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2015, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-the-shredded-stasi-files-that-were-supposed-to-have-been-reassembled/718168/4 "2015-04-24T01:37:29Z")
Thank you all. Very helpful. davidmich