their disdain for the system in the anonymity of a crowd. Supporters of Union Berlin also saw themselves as stubborn and non-conformist, but this image should not be confused with actual resistance. Provocation was part of football in East Germany and people shouted out anything, because it was possible to get away with it. A critical attitude to the system was something that football supporters across East Germany had in common in the 1970s and 1980s. Supporters of Union Berlin from the East German era concede that it is an exaggeration to call the club a "resistance club". A supporter of Union Berlin has said: "With the best of intentions, Union fans did not contribute to the overthrow of the GDR. No way, we were interested in football. There is the cliché about the club for the enemies of the state, but that wasn't us". There were no political groups among the supporters of Union Berlin. For some supporters of Union Berlin, the dissident reputation of Union Berlin is a legend that was created after Die Wende. A controversy erupted around Union Berlin in 2011 when it became publicly known that the then President of Union Berlin Dirk Zingler had been a member of the Stasi Guards Regiment "Felix E. Dzerzhinsky" for three years during his military service between 1983 and 1986. Zingler explained that he had sought to spend his military service in Berlin and claimed that he did not know beforehand that the regiment belonged to the Stasi. However, the Stasi Guards Regiment "Felix E. Dzerzhinsky” was an elite formation; it was not possible to simply apply for the regiment. The Stasi selected who it thought were best fit to serve with the regiment, only accepting recruits that were "loyal to the line". Zingler had also been a member of the Socialist Unity Party (SED) and leader in the Free German Youth (FDJ) at the time. Union Berlin Press spokesman Christian Arbeit commented on the reports about Zingler in 2011 saying: "We do have a very unique history, compared to other clubs. But it wasn't us that always claimed we were this big anti-Stasi club. These are stories that get simplified in the media." Most supporters of Union Berlin were just normal football supporters. Politics was not in the foreground. Supporters of Union Berlin from the era have testified that their support for the club had nothing to