“The compound housed” “cafes, shops with luxury products”, “a hospital and even a hairdressing salon, so that, once at work” “employees would never have to leave”

These are selective quotes taken from a paragraph in Tunnel 29 by Helena Merriman. In full it reads:

“At first, the Stasi headquarters was just a small collection of offices on Magdalenenstrasse, somewhere to house the fledgling secret police force. Then, over the years, it grew into a concrete fortress, swallowing up the streets and houses around it like a black hole. The windows all had shutters, the concrete walls bristled with security cameras and the entrance was obscured by thick steel so that no one could see in. Inside, the compound housed every activity of secret policing imaginable - not only interrogation rooms, prisons, a training academy and thousands of offices, but also cafes, shops with luxury products imported from the West, a hospital and even a hairdressing salon, so that, once at work, Stasi employees would never have to leave. No popping out for a sandwich in your lunch-break.”