German scientists are piloting new software to try to reassemble secret documents shredded by East Germany's secret police before reunification.

Some 16,250 sacks containing pieces of 45m documents were found and confiscated by authorities after the fall of the Berlin Wall in late 1989.

Correspondents say the haul contained classified and compromising documents about Stasi informers and victims.

Experts say they now hope to complete the task in four to five years.

Reconstruction work began on the paper fragments 12 years ago. In that time 24 people have only been able to reassemble the contents of 323 sacks.

The BBC's Steve Rosenburg in Berlin says it has been a desperately slow process which, according to some estimates, could take 600 years to complete.

Now, however, computer software being employed by Berlin's Frauenhofer Institute for Production Systems and Design Technology is set to speed up the process.

German scientists believe they can complete the puzzle in the space of a few years.

The German government is helping to finance the 6.3m euro (£4.3m; $8.5m) project.

It is hoped that restoring the shredded files will help reveal the last great secrets of the Stasi, our correspondent says.

Source - BBC News

Cool and *yawn* both at the same time.

Do the 24 people that have spent 12 years assembling the sacks have other great interests I wonder.

quote:

Originally posted by Saka Cool and *yawn* both at the same time. Do the 24 people that have spent 12 years assembling the sacks have other great interests I wonder.

eh, thats their job, what if it were their papers in there? not to mention the historical value of it.

its like saying popele that put together broken pottery that takes years are wasting their time

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quote:

Originally posted by Halcyon+On+On OOKA-OOKA ME NACHOS ME PRESS KEYS ON COMPUTER GOOD

quote:

Originally posted by nchs09 eh, thats their job, what if it were their papers in there? not to mention the historical value of it. its like saying popele that put together broken pottery that takes years are wasting their time

funny you say that. this system was used on the chinese clay army.

So these documents were ripped up and put into over a thousand sacks???

Why weren't they just burned??

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quote:

Originally posted by Jackson Why weren't they just burned??

lol srsly

quote:

Originally posted by Jackson So these documents were ripped up and put into over a thousand sacks??? Why weren't they just burned??

The east germans were environmentally conscious.

i read a better article. this one doesnt explain it enough. they didnt get burned because the people shredding it fled for their lives when the wall came down and what not.

i can think of far more boring and repetitive jobs to be stuck with for 12 years to be honest.

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quote:

Originally posted by noikeee i can think of far more boring and repetitive jobs to be stuck with for 12 years to be honest.

go on then.

quote:

Originally posted by Coup go on then.

do you want fries with that?

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quote:

Originally posted by Coup go on then.

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sempre contra a corrente do jogo