 Emblem of the Kampfgruppen der Arbeiterklasse The Combat Groups of the Working Class (German: Kampfgruppen der Arbeiterklasse, KdA) was a paramilitary organisation in East Germany, founded in 1953 and abolished in 1990. It numbered about 400,000 volunteers for much of its existence. Image File history File links Rasterized version of image to remove compression artifacts. ...
Image File history File links Rasterized version of image to remove compression artifacts. ...
A paramilitary organization is a group of civilians trained and organised in a military fashion. ...
GDR redirects here. ...
1953 (MCMLIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link is to a full 1953 calendar). ...
This article is about the year. ...
History
The Kampfgruppen were formed after the Workers Uprising in June 1953. It was intended to be the East German equivalent to the Factory Units of the Worker's Militia of Czechoslovakia which played a very important part in the communist putsch in Czechoslovakia in 1948. Protesters marching through the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin The Uprising of 1953 in East Germany took place in June and July 1953. ...
A coup détat, or simply a coup, is the sudden overthrow of a government, usually done by a small group that just replaces the top power figures. ...
The largest use of the KdA was during the construction of the Berlin Wall in 1961. The best trained and most politically reliable KdA units and members from Saxony, Thuringia and East Berlin participated in the construction and guarding of the Wall. Over 8,000 KdA, about 20% of all military units, were involved in this effort. During the six week deployment of KdA to the Wall only eight members escaped to the West indicating a high state of morale and political reliability. East German construction workers building the Berlin Wall, 1961-11-20 In the last phase of the wall´s development, the death strip between fence and concrete wall gave guards a clear shot at hundreds of would-be escapees from the East. ...
The KdA were not used during the peaceful mass protests is late 1989 at the Nikolaikirche in Leipzig as many KdA members identified with the protester's cause and some participated in the marches. The decline of the SED and rapid political changes in East Germany after the Wall was opened made the KdA no longer relevent or necessary. The decision to disband the KdA was made by the Volkskammer in December 1989. Disarmament of the KdA began that month and was supervised by the police who consolidated and stored weapons and equipment along with the Volksarmee. The final 189,370 fighters in 2,022 units were completely demobilized in May 1990.
Command and Control The KdA fell under the authority of the Central Committee of the Socialist Unity Party (SED). The KdA was the polical-miliary instrument of the SED, it was essentially a "party Army". All KdA directives and decisions were made by the Central Comittee (Zentral-Komitee - ZK) of the Politbüro. The SED Central Committee also supervised the rest of the armed forces through its Security Commission (Sicherheitskommission). The logo of the SED The Socialist Unity Party of Germany (German: Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands, or SED) was the governing party of East Germany from its formation in 1949 until the elections of 1990. ...
Politburo is short for Political Bureau. ...
The ZK exercised this power through two chains-of-command. The first was the Ministry of the Interior and the People's Police Volkspolizei, which provided military training, equipment and operational expertise. Second was through the SED Bezirk directorates and the SED Kreis directorates in the areas of personnel and political sutability of members. A 1:87 scale model of a Volkspolizei police car The Volkspolizei (German: Peoples Police) was the national police of East German, whose officers were commonly nicknamed VoPos. ...
Commanders of the battalions and hundreds were appointed by the Pary organization in the major factories or enterprises of the area. They were confirmed by the Kreisleitung of the SED, to which they gave regular reports on the state of training, equipment and membership.
Membership By 1989, the KdA's membership exceeded half a million, meaning that one in 36 East Germans was a member. Recruitment is done by the party branches in the factory or enterprise. Membership was voluntary, but SED party members were required to join as part of their party obligation. Non-party members were compelled to join by the Free German Trade Union (FDGB). Men in the age of 25 to 60 were eligable for membership. Younger men, if they were not doing military service were part of the Paramilitary Society for Sport and Technology (GST). Many chose to enlist in the KdA so as to avoid being drafted into the army. 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
Conscript redirects here, but may also refer to artificial script. ...
Army (from French armée) can, in some countries, refer to any armed force. ...
Organization The KdA were units based on their working place. General units were closely tied to their local basis, nationalized enterprises, state and local administration offices and other working places, and their organizations and their employment did not extend beyond their district level. The mobile or motorized units, designated Battalions of the Regional Reserve, could be employed outside their local and district areas.
The organization was similar to the United States National Guard or British Territorial Army; however, unlike a National Guard or Territorial Army, it was strictly controlled by the governing Socialist Unity Party. It has been suggested that National Guard Bureau be merged into this article or section. ...
The logo of the SED The Socialist Unity Party of Germany (German: Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands, or SED) was the governing party of East Germany from its formation in 1949 until the elections of 1990. ...
Each large factory, along with many neighbourhoods, had their own Kampfgruppe, each made up of about 100 workers who sought to "defend the property of the people". A factory (previously manufactory) or manufacturing plant is a large industrial building where workers manufacture goods or supervise machines processing one product into another. ...
In classical economics and all micro-economics labour is one of three factors of production, the others being land and capital. ...
// Use of the term The concept of property or ownership has no single or universally accepted definition. ...
The KdA were organised like infantry, and were to supplement the military and police serving as security in rear areas during wartime or in political emergencies, such as protests against the government. Infantry of the Royal Irish Rifles during the Battle of the Somme in World War I. An infantry is a body of soldiers who fight primarily on foot with small arms in organized military units, though they may be transported to the battlefield by horses, ships, automobiles, skis, or other...
Look up Emergency in Wiktionary, the free dictionary An emergency is a situation that poses an immediate threat to human life or serious damage to property. ...
Demonstrators march in the street while protesting the World Bank and International Monetary Fund on April 16, 2005. ...
Der Kämpfer was the monthly newspaper of the KdA which was printed by the SED's Neues Deutschland publishing house was the voice of the KdA.
Training and Equipment Training was conducted by the People's Police, Volkspolizei, to avoid the KdA being counted as part of the total strength of the armed forces under international treaties. The KdA also provided economic savings to the SED which didn't have to construct barracks for these forces whose members continued their productive work while training in their spare time. A KdA member trained with his group after work and on weekends for a total of 136 hours annually. A 1:87 scale model of a Volkspolizei police car The Volkspolizei (German: Peoples Police) was the national police of East German, whose officers were commonly nicknamed VoPos. ...
The KdA had at their disposal many of the weapons that the police would use in riot situations, such as SK-1 armoured personnel carriers, mortars, anti-aircraft guns and anti-tank guns. SK-1 is an acronym of SKafander # 1 is a space suit that was developed special for Yuri Gagarin. ...
The M113, one of the most common tracked APCs, on duty during the Vietnam War. ...
US soldier firing an M224 60-mm mortar. ...
American troops man an anti-aircraft gun near the Algerian coastline in 1943 Anti-aircraft, or air defense, is any method of combating military aircraft from the ground. ...
Anti-tank, or simply AT, refers to any method of combating military armored fighting vehicles, notably tanks. ...
There is speculation that politically reliable KdA groups could have been sent overseas to help train local militias, especially in countries in Africa that received military aid from East Germany. It is thought that large numbers of KdA members were sent to Brazzaville. Africa is the worlds second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia. ...
Image of Kinshasa and Brazzaville, taken by NASA. Brazzaville is the capital and largest city of the Republic of the Congo and is located on the Congo River. ...
KdA camps were held annually, usually in the wilderness, for training purposes. Summer camp, principally a New world phenomenon, is a common destination for children and teenagers during the summer months. ...
The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view. ...
Training refers to the acquisition of knowledge, skills, and attitudes as a result of the teaching of vocational or practical skills and knowledge that relates to specific useful skills. ...
Badges, Awards and Insigina There were a series of badges as well as service and merit medals awarded to KdA members. The KdA also wore distinctive red rank insignia on the right arm of their uniform. A Medal is a word used for various types of compact objects: a wearable medal awarded by an authority government for services redered, especially to a country (such as Armed force service); strictly speaking this only refers to a medal of coin-like appearance, but informally the word also refers...
Oath of the Combat Groups I am ready, as a fighter of the Working Class to fulfil the directives of the Pary to defend the German Democratic Republic and its Socialist achievements at any time with my weapon in my hand and to lay down my life for them. This I swear.
See also | 
Feeds |
Contact