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German scientists have developed a computer system to reconstruct millions of files on citizens and informants that were destroyed by the Stasi -- the East German secret police.

After the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, the Stasi tore up documents from its huge operation into jigsaw puzzle-size pieces. Those documents included meticulous observations on East Germans and foreigners deemed a threat to the state. About 15 people have been working at the Berlin archive for Stasi documents, piecing together scraps by hand. But that process has only produced an average of 10 documents a day, and at that rate could take 400 years to get through 16,000 sacks of files.

A consortium of scientists says the process can be greatly speeded up and will take just five years with its new computer scanning system.

Guest: Berlin-based freelance writer Andrew Curry