History of the Volkspolizei

Badge of the Volkspolizei

History of the Volkspolizei

Founded in in 1946, the Volkspolizei (German for "People's Police") was both the armed forces and the national police of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany). The Volkspolizei was responsible for most law enforcement in East Germany, but its organisation and structure were such that it could be considered a paramilitary force as well. Unlike typical police in most countries, they were equipped with armored personnel carriers and artillery and trained as military units.

Founding

The Volkspolizei was effectively founded just following World War II, when the Soviet Union established central police forces in the regions of Germany it occupied (in violation of the agreements at the Yalta Conference and the Potsdam Conference). The SVAG approved the arming of community-level police forces on 31 October 1945.

The name Volkspolizei began to be used in 1946. In August of that year, the Volkspolizei was placed under the control of the German Administration of the Interior. The first Volkspolizisten were mostly former Wehrmacht officers who had converted to communism, as well as former German members of the International Brigades in the Spanish Civil War. The "Volkspolizei" has been organized in the same style as the militia in the Soviet Union.

By November 1946, the Volkspolizei had more than 45,000 officers. In that same month the SVAG authorised the creation of the Border Police, 3,000 men who were charged with preventing mass emigration into West Germany. In December, the Transportpolizei was established.

Purges

Postage stamp commemorating the transport police

In the spring of 1949, the SVAG ordered that the Volkspolizei be purged of all "undesirable officers". This included anybody who had served in the Wehrmacht, anybody who had been a prisoner of war in an Allied country (not including the USSR), anybody who had come to East Germany as refugees from former German territories that had been placed under Polish or Soviet control, and anybody with relatives in West Germany.

People not deemed sufficiently committed to the communist cause were also dismissed. With these purges, the SVAG created a force that was, politically, steadfastly loyal. To further instill the correct politics into Volkspolizei officers, the Main Administration of Training was established in 1949. These training courses were run by communist heroes such as Spanish Civil War veteran Wilhelm Zaisser, and the man who would later become East Germany's Minister of Defence, Heinz Hoffmann.

By 1950, East Germany, though officially still without an army, was able to muster a well organised and well-armed security force, and with the establishment of the Volkspolizei came the foundations of the future Nationale Volksarmee.

Creation of an Armed Forces under the Ministry of the Interior

In the initial stages of reorganization, the nonmilitary units of the People's Police, the Border Police, and the Transport Police were subordinated to the Main Administration of the People's Police within the Ministry of the Interior. The Alert Units of the KVP were assigned to the Main Administration of Training as the first step toward creation of the NVA and the Ministry of Defense.

In the spring of 1950, the process of dividing the Alert Units into separate branches of the armed services was initiated. The first pilot training occurred at an aviation club at Lausitz, and shortly thereafter Special Section 2 of the KVP was created as the nucleus of the East German air force. In 1952 Special Section 2 was redesignated Main Administration for Air Police.

A similar process established East Germany's navy. On June 15, 1950, the existence of the Main Administration of Sea Police (Hauptverwaltung Seepolizei) was announced formally. Headquartered at Berlin-Niederschöneweide, the Sea Police initially were responsible for protection of fisheries and for antismuggling activities. A school for sailors established at Kühlungsborn, a school for petty officers at Parow, and an officer training school at Stralsund--all on the Baltic Coast--provided the basis for the future navy. By 1952 the Sea Police had assumed the additional duties of minesweeping in coastal waters and, in cooperation with the Border Police, surveillance of the sea. Until shipyards--which began operation in 1952--could launch new ships, the Sea Police were limited to a few German World War II patrol boats and minesweepers turned over to them by the Soviets.

The ground forces were structured on the light infantry battalions of the KVP and subordinated to the Main Administration of Garrisoned People's Police. Except for resubordination of the Border Police, the KVP changed the least of the three services.

Organization and training for all services closely adhered to the Soviet model, and Soviet advisers were present at all levels down to battalion. Although much of the equipment and most of the weapons were initially of German World War II vintage, there was an increasingly rapid introduction of newer Soviet matériel. In a move to assert a separate identity, the East German leadership introduced unique uniforms, similar to the Soviet field uniforms, to differentiate the armed forces from the police forces.

1953 Uprising

In the early 1950s, problems within the country were causing dissatisfaction among East German citizens. These included confusion within the ruling SED following the death of Stalin, economic pressures resulting from collectivization, payment of reparations, an increasingly disadvantageous comparison with West Germany, and resentment of Soviet presence and influence. Eventually these factors combined to trigger a spontaneous general uprising that started in East Berlin on June 17, 1953, and rapidly spread throughout much of the country. The rebellion was quickly suppressed by Soviet troops on June 17. This short but intense episode had far-reaching effects on the evolution of the national security system.

For its part, the Ulbricht government also was forced to recognize that it lacked legitimacy in the eyes of its own people. In the short run, the most notable response was what could be called "the third purge" in the summer of 1953. This purge resulted in changes in the top ranks of the SED, including replacement of Zaisser, the minister of state security. During the remainder of the summer, 12,000 men of all ranks and grades were dismissed from the People's Police for "unreliability."

Formal Establishment of the Ministry of National Defense

On January 18, 1956, the People's Chamber (the national legislature) passed a bill creating the NVA and the Ministry of National Defense. This act formally acknowledged the existence of East Germany's armed forces, the National People's Army or NVA. The NVA incorporated the Kasernierte Volkspolizei, Sea Police, and Air Police into a single armed force having three branches: ground, naval, and air. The new Minister of Defense was Colonel General (Generaloberst) Willi Stoph who was also minister of the interior. In 1987 Stoph was chairman of the Council of Ministers and a member of the SED Politburo. General Hoffmann, who was listed as first deputy minister of defense, attended the Soviet General Staff Academy in the mid-1950s and replaced Stoph as defense minister in 1960.

The creation of the Ministry of Defense and the NVA seemingly should have been a blow to the authority and prestige of the Ministry of the Interior. The bureaucratic impact of this action was mitigated by permitting Stoph to carry both portfolios for four years. In addition, police activities, both civil and secret, remained under the Ministry of the Interior, as did the Border Police. The Ministry of the Interior established its own Volkspolizei-Bereitschaften (VPB) (Alert Units) for the specific function of internal security. The Alert Units were militarily structured, fully motorized units with modern weapons and equipment. Garrisoned and trained in battalion-size units, they were capable of carrying out police tasks and other security functions. They have been used in major disturbances or in civil disasters affecting public order and safety.

As part of the Ministry of the Interior

Officers of the East German Volkspolizei parading through the streets of Neustrelitz in 1955. They are armed with StG 44 rifles.

The members of the armed agencies of the Ministry of the Interior observe military discipline and bear rank designations. In 1987 the minister of the interior, Friedrich Dickel, for example, was a colonel general. Dickel also was Chief of the People's Police, whose Alert Units, numbering some 12,000 troops, were composed of 21 battalions equipped with BTR-40 and BTR-152 armored personnel carriers and 82-mm mortars. Also of military significance are the Transport Police, with approximately 8,500 men in dark-blue uniforms who do work related to the railroad system. They were organized into sixteen companies and equipped with small arms and RPG-7 shoulder-fired antitank grenade launchers.

Additionally, the Ministry of the Interior has other branches which control the Fire Fighters, Prison Administration, Municipal Police, Traffic Police, Criminal Police, Training Administrations, Passport Department, and registration system, as well as some 135,000 volunteer police assistants

German reunification

Barkas B 1000 police van

In preparation of the German reunification in East Germany five federal states were founded. Every state created its own police forces. Every former VP-officer could apply for a job with the new police if he had not worked as an agent for the MfS. Recently before and after the reunification every VP officer had to undergo a new training based on West German law.

Even in the 21st century, there is much social stigma connected with being a former "VoPo", and the blame of having been on the "wrong side" during the Cold War is often leveled against many ex-Volkspolizei officers to this day.

References

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External links

• Official Site of the German Police
• EAST GERMANY - A Country Study (based on information from the Library of Congress)
• The Democratisation of the Police (With Reference to the Brandenburg Police) by John Chivers
• IG Deutsche Volkspolizei in German.
• Volkspolizei page at polizeiautos.de