The war wasn't over when the preparations for Germany's new secret service began. The material collected about the Soviets survived the end of the war because it was hidden (on microfilm) in sealed canisters buried in the German Alps, with the intent to side with the Americans and start spying on the Soviets again... The plan totally worked. To make it even better, the organization gobbled up high-profile Nazis who wanted to avoid prosecution like nobodies business. Even today, whenever someone wants to take a closer look at the people who work(ed) there, documents vanish and nobody knows a damn thing.

Then there is the entire StaSi. Of course they lost, so we get to point fingers at them and declare them the bad guys.

Germany may have strong privacy laws, but our three branches of secret services are exempt in various ways. Don't kid yourself. We are most likely right up there with France.