Overview
- Berlin’s Administrative Court First Chamber dismissed Marcel Luthe’s bid on March 12, 2026, keeping any potential Stasi files on Angela Merkel closed.
- Luthe’s 2023 request to the Federal Archives stemmed from a book project and followed online claims about a supposed codename “Erika,” for which the coverage reports no evidence.
- The court held that an alleged FDJ agitation‑propaganda post attributed to Merkel would be too minor to justify third‑party access.
- Judges said Stasi documentation after Merkel’s 1990 role with Demokratischer Aufbruch was unlikely and declined an in‑camera review tied to a 1981 Poland border check.
- Luthe said he will appeal and exhaust legal remedies despite about €20,000 in costs to date.