Major General Horst Männchen's name has become synonymous with the Ministry for State Security's “big ear” – its electronic eavesdropping department. In contrast to his stature within that organization, by the time of his retirement years, the general has become a slight, energetic man with one arm (as a result of an accident). Dark and intense, he is a chain smoker, with a charming, yet down-to-earth manner. During a visit at his posh Berlin-Wilhelmshagen apartment on Lake Dämeritz, typical for Ministry for State Security (MfS) generals, he hacks throughout animated discussions of electronic eavesdropping. He is proud of the successes of his unit during the Cold War, but is equally admiring of the American achievements in technical and electronic intelligence gathering. In fact, it was the Western developments in electronic espionage and electronic warfare that inspired Männchen to develop a new department. He thought everything the West was doing could be reversed and used against them. He had recognized the importance of eavesdropping when he was a young radio operator. The main weakness he noticed was that one could “listen in on everything.”

It was only after the fall of the Berlin Wall that Männchen and his empire received any attention as major players in the world of global eavesdropping. Even then, it was the sensation that East Germany had listened in on and recorded embarrassing conversations of Western politicians that came under the glare of public scrutiny, more than the technical accomplishments.