West German spies used to keep track of jokes told in East Germany, and now these files are available -- a treasure trove of German humor, if that's not an oxymoron.
My favorite: "Christmas has been canceled.... Mary didn't find any diapers for the baby Jesus, Joseph was called up to the army and the three kings didn't get a travel permit."
Of course, telling jokes was dangerous with the East German secret police everywhere. But there was a joke for that, too:
"There are people who tell jokes.
There are people who collect jokes and tell jokes.
And there are people who collect people who tell jokes."
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