intelligence service
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intelligence service
A state organization that secretly gathers information in order to protect national security.
Der Geheimdienst warnte die Regierung vor einem möglichen Anschlag.
The intelligence service warned the government about a possible attack.
The word is a clear compound of 'geheim' (secret) and 'der Dienst' (service). So it literally means 'a service that works in secret'.
Er las einen spannenden Roman über einen Agenten im Geheimdienst.
He read an exciting novel about an agent in the intelligence service.
Common verbs used with 'Geheimdienst' (intelligence service) are 'Informationen sammeln' (to gather information), 'Personen überwachen' (to monitor people), or 'vor Gefahren warnen' (to warn of dangers). It is also often said that someone 'für den Geheimdienst arbeitet' (works for the intelligence service).
Der Geheimdienst sammelt Informationen über extremistische Gruppen.
The intelligence service gathers information about extremist groups.
Most of the time, the specific intelligence service is specified. This is done with an adjective or a genitive attribute, for example 'der amerikanische Geheimdienst' (the American intelligence service) or 'der Geheimdienst Russlands' (Russia's intelligence service).
Die Zeitung berichtete über eine Operation des britischen Geheimdienstes.
The newspaper reported on an operation by the British intelligence service.
Office for the Protection of the Constitution
'der Verfassungsschutz' and 'der Geheimdienst' both have to do with the state gathering information for security purposes. 'Geheimdienst' is the more general term for such organizations, including in other countries or abroad. 'der Verfassungsschutz' is a specific German domestic intelligence service. It mainly monitors groups or individuals who could endanger the democratic order. The words can be confusing because the Verfassungsschutz works like an intelligence service. More precisely, though: every Verfassungsschutz is an intelligence service, but not every Geheimdienst is the Verfassungsschutz.
In dem Film sammelt ein Geheimdienst geheime Informationen über ein anderes Land.
In the film, an intelligence service gathers secret information about another country.
Der Verfassungsschutz beobachtet eine Gruppe, die gegen die demokratische Ordnung arbeitet.
The domestic intelligence service is monitoring a group that is working against the democratic order.