They were regrettably casualties of the cold War. The border regime was a necessary evil to ensure peace and stability so that war would not break out again in Europe. Those who felt the need to attempt republikflucht knew well the risks they were taking, attempting to cross the border illegally, minds were corrupted by West TV and radio, sadly people believed the streets of the BRD were "pathed with gold", when in fact they had everything they needed under real existing socialism in the DDR, things that not everyone has the luxury of in the BRD as many would later find out the harsh realities of life under a capitalist system.
In fact I can tell you of DDR citizens who later willingly returned voluntarily to their old life's because they were better than in West and even shared their stories in MfS lehrfilm's when they returned.
We already had "freedom to travel", to all of the socialist brother countries of the Warschau treaty organisation and then after the new travel laws of Genosse Egon Krenz on 09.11.1989 it was possible to visit the BRD and Berlin (West) with just personalausweis and not even passport. But it was of course the chaotic manner in which it was announced that evening that caused us so many problems (Günter Schabowski began reading to the press on the evening of the 9th, what should have been published on the morning of the 10th!)
„Das tritt… nach meiner Kenntnis… ist das sofort, unverzüglich!“
This was of course broadcast to the world and also seen and heard by millions of DDR bürger on Aktuelle Kamera and led to them coming to the checkpoints in their thousands that night but we had no instructions to let them go West, our superior officers in HA VI in Berlin-Lichtenberg also had "no clue" as the regulations were to be passed by the Volkskammer the next morning and no one knew nothing! This led to MANY telefon calls backwards and forwards that night until our
Oberstleutnant finally took the decision to open our checkpoint and let them through.
What followed was a Volksfest for all of them with scenes people could only dream of but for me no...
The travel regulation was the first of many reforms planned by Egon Krenz, which brings me to your next statement; "the abolishment of the Stasi".
The Ministerrat was dissolved on 17.11.1989 and a new one appointed, this included long time Minister für Staatssicherheit, Genosse Armeegeneral Erich "Ich liebe doch ALLE!" Mielke..
He was replaced by Genosse Dr Ing Wolfgang Schwanitz as Leiter des Amtes für Nationale Sicherheit (AfNS), the successor organisation that replaced the MfS until 15.01.1990 when the headquarters of the MfS/AfNS in Normannenstraße was
stormed" by "protesters"..
Actually, they were just criminals, what we witnessed that evening was nothing but pure criminality when thugs entered the complex, and began looting and destroyimg the place...
Tell me, what would you think of the same situation unfolding at the offices of a certain "shady outfit" at Vauxhall Cross??
This counter revolutionary action resulted in the AfNS being dissolved under the leadership of Genosse Generalmajor Heinz Engelhardt who with the support of Dr Schwanitz and newly elected DDR Ministerpräsident Hans Modrow
Initially attempted to in turn replace the AfNS by splitting it into two successor organisations; Verfassungsschutz der DDR und Nachrichtendienst der DDR just like in West.
Sadly this also failed and Modrow, Gregor Gysi and the new SED leadership began to distance themselves from us, and on that evening there was not even a phone call made from Modrow's office to Engelhardt and the few remaining AfNS men in the building while the angry mob gathered downstairs...
Heinz Engelhardt tells this story very well by the way in his recent book; „Der letzte Mann: Countdown fürs MfS” which I highly recommend to get a better understanding of this complicated turbulent time in our country.
The following years and even until now in the "ex-DDR" seen a "Stasi witch hunt", lifes were destroyed literally, years of service suddenly meant nothing at all and MfS vetrens were demonized and denied of state pensions etc, also NVA und Grenztruppen veterns too. And as I have already mentioned, mass unemployment for so many.
Krenz planned to reform our country, we knew it was not perfect and had many problems, but without the interference from West, Kohl and to a certain extent being abandoned by Gorbachev and the UdSSR I and many of my former colleagues remain confident that we would have solved them our self's and the DDR would be a real socialist alternative and celebrate its 70th anniversary on 7. Oktober this year.
The MfS existed as the "sword and shield of the SED", our mission was to defend socialism and the workers and peasants state, in those dying days however our mission had sadly become to protect ourselves from those very people.
We had in the end been abandoned by Modrow and the new SED leadership and "hung out to dry" as you say.
All we could do was act to protect our self's, our families, friends and our IM's, what else could we do?