Communist countries were filled with populations afraid of each other - snitches, turn coats, informers and so on.
Can’t be any other way, as communism requires complete surrender, and many don’t want to, and there aren’t enough “regular” military or law enforcement to do the job of repression. So rewards and punishments among the citizenry and a network of informers is absolutely necessary.
Hub knows this first hand, and my parents who visited eastern Europe a fair amount and had friends there, also experienced it.
I’m sure your DH was one of many who sounded the alarm. How many people listened?
I wonder.