The Volkspolizei (German for "People's Police") was the national police of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany), whose officers were commonly nicknamed VoPos. Formed following the end of World War II and abolished after German reunification, Volkspolizei officers were trained like soldiers and were highly effective in enforcing the policies of the East German government. National police are the primary source of law enforcement activities in some countries, such as Italy, France and Japan, and are organised on a national basis. ... “East Germany” redirects here. ... Anthem Auferstanden aus Ruinen Capital East Berlin Language(s) German Government Socialist republic Head of State  - 1949 – 1960 Wilhelm Pieck  - 1960 – 1973 Walter Ulbricht  - 1973 – 1976 Willi Stoph  - 1976 – 1989 Erich Honecker  - 1989 Egon Krenz  - 1989 - 1990 Manfred Gerlach Head of Government  - 1949 – 1964 Otto Grotewohl  - 1964 – 1973 Willi Stoph... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... German reunification (German: ) took place on October 3, 1990, when the areas of the former German Democratic Republic (GDR, in English commonly called East Germany) were incorporated into the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG, in English commonly called West Germany). The start of this reunification process is commonly referred to... This article is about a military rank. ...

East German stamp - "25 years of Volkspolizei"

Trabant East German Police Car

Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links Trabant_Polizeiversion. ... Image File history File links Trabant_Polizeiversion. ... The Trabant is an automobile formerly produced by East German auto maker VEB Sachsenring Automobilwerke Zwickau in Zwickau, Saxony. ...

Organisation

The Volkspolizei, as well as fulfilling traditional police duties such as investigation and traffic control, also worked closely with the Stasi and had their own network of informants that would crosscheck information gathered by Stasi informants, and vice versa. This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... Logo of East Germanys Ministerium für Staatssicherheit (MfS or Stasi) / Ministry for State Security This article is about Stasi, the secret police of East Germany. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Unlike Western police forces, the Volkspolizei was administered and directly subordinate to the Ministry of the Interior. It was run like a second army, with corresponding ranks and use of military drill. The Interior Minister is a member of a Cabinet in a Government. ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ...

Though this prevented corruption, it also greatly restricted the discretionary freedoms of its officers, meaning that some crimes remained unsolved because the perpetrators escaped while investigating officers needed to go through lengthy and complicated bureaucratic procedures. The Politics series Politics Portal This box:      This article is about the sociological concept. ...

Rather than the civil service status that West German police enjoyed, each Volkspolizist had a personal contract with the government, though they were well paid, and were guaranteed an apartment in a nice suburb of a large city, and special shops for them and their families. The Byzantine civil service in action. ... A contract is a legally binding exchange of promises or agreement between parties that the law will enforce. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Drawing of a self-service store. ...

Main Administration of the People's Police

Bereitschaftspolizei (Alert Police) from Basdorf on duty at the Brandenburg Gate before the fall of the Berlin Wall

Headed by a Police Colonel-General (Generaloberst der VP) with a Lieutenant-general (Generalleutnant der VP) as Chief of staff, the Main Administration is the Headquarters of the Volkspolizei. It contained the following Departments: Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 533 pixelsFull resolution (2790 × 1860 pixel, file size: 931 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) 03:45, 6. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 533 pixelsFull resolution (2790 × 1860 pixel, file size: 931 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) 03:45, 6. ... The Brandenburg Gate The Brandenburg Gate (German: Brandenburger Tor) is a former city gate and one of the main symbols of Berlin, Germany. ... East German construction workers building the Berlin Wall, November 20, 1961. ... Colonel General is a senior military rank which is used in some of the world’s militaries. ... Lieutenant General is a military rank used in many countries. ... The chief of staff is the chief aide to the commander of larger military formations and units. ...

• General Police - performed all normal police duties.
• Traffic Police - a Highway Patrol
• Transport Police - a transit police force
• Criminal Police - detectives
• Alert Police - actually a separate command under the Ministry of the Interior but operationally controlled by the Regional Commands of the Volkspolizei.

A highway patrol is either a police agency created primarily for the purpose of overseeing and enforcing traffic safety compliance on roads and highways, such as the California Highway Patrol, or a detail within an existing local or regional police agency that is primarily concerned with such duties, such as... The Transportpolizei was the East German police force that dealt with modes of transit. ... Transit police, or transport police, are a specialized type of police employed by a common carrier, usually a railroad (but may also include a bus line or other transport carrier) that are tasked to prevent and investigate crimes committed against the carrier or by or against passengers or other customers... Kriminalpolizei is the usual designation of the criminal investigation services in the police forces of Germany, Austria and the German-speaking part of Switzerland. ... A detective is an officer of the police who performs criminal or administrative investigations, in some police departments, the lowest rank among such investigators (above the lowest rank of officers and below sergeants), a civilian licensed to investigate information not readily available in public records (a private investigator, also called... The Bereitschaftspolizei (Alert Police or Emergency Police) are the barracked mobile police of Germany. ... The Interior Minister is a member of a Cabinet in a Government. ...

Regional Commands

• 1. Berlin Presidium of the People's Police (Präsidium der Volkspolizei)
  • 8 Police Inspectorates (Volkspolizei-Inspektionen)
  • River Police Inspectorate (Wasserschutzpolizei-Inspektion)
• 2. 14 District commands - One per East German District, excluding Karl Marx Stadt.
• 3. Area Command of the People's Police, Wismut-Karl Marx Stadt in Siegmer-Schönau, to protect the state enterprise of Wismut AG.

East Berlin was the name given to the eastern part of Berlin between 1949 and 1990. ... The Presidium or Praesidium (from Latin praesidium meaning protection or defense so plural presidia or praesidia) is the name for the executive committee of various legislative and organizational bodies. ... An NYPD boat on patrol in New York Harbor A Metropolitan Police launch on the River Thames in London A Chicago Police Department boat on Lake Michigan Water police, also called harbour patrols, port police, marine police, or river police, are police officers, usually a department of a larger police... An Inspectorate or Inspectorate-General (or General Inspectorate) is a civilian or military body charged with the mission of inspecting and reporting on some institution or institutions in its field of competence. ... Subdivisions of the German Democratic Republic Subdivisions of the German Democratic Republic from 1952 Following the redrawing of Germanys national boundaries after 1945, there were five states or Länder in the Soviet controlled eastern zone: Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (Mecklenburg-Vorpommern), Saxony (Sachsen), Saxony-Anhalt (Sachsen-Anhalt), and... Chemnitz (Sorbian/Lusatian Kamjenica, 1953-1990 called Karl-Marx-Stadt; Czech: Saská Kamenice) is a city in the Free State of Saxony, Germany. ...

Recruitment

To be a standard Volkspolizei officer, an East German needed to have at least a tenth grade education, have completed vocational training (see education in East Germany) and served in the army. A history of political loyalty and frequent attendance of communist meetings was also a must. Education in East Germany was a high priority for the communist government, and was compulsory from age six to age sixteen. ...

After joining, a recruit would go through a 5-month course, mostly consisting of political indoctrination and legal theory. The recruit would then complete a 6-month practical internship. Those aspiring to be investigators would receive further training. Indoctrination is the process of inculcating ideas, attitudes, cognitive strategies or a professional methodology. ... For other uses, see Law (disambiguation). ... The word theory has a number of distinct meanings in different fields of knowledge, depending on their methodologies and the context of discussion. ... For information about a medical intern, see the article on Medical residency. ...

Any Volkspolizei officer could receive further criminological training if he wished to at the Humboldt University in East Berlin. Criminology is the scientific study of crime as an individual and social phenomenon. ... Alternative meaning: Humboldt State University, located in Arcata, California Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin The Humboldt University of Berlin (German Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin) is the successor to Berlins oldest university, the Friedrich Wilhelm University (Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität), founded in 1810 by the liberal Prussian educational reformer... East Berlin was the name given to the eastern part of Berlin between 1949 and 1990. ...

Though vastly different from Western police forces in most respects, the reasons Volkspolizei officers gave for joining the force were the same as any Western policemen: a desire to work with people, idealism, family tradition, belief in the system (though in this case the system in question differed) and the wish to serve one's country. This section may require cleanup to meet Wikipedias quality standards. ... a family of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso in 1997 Family is a Western term used to denote a domestic group of people, or a number of domestic groups linked through descent (demonstrated or stipulated) from a common ancestor, marriage or adoption. ... Socialism refers to a broad array of doctrines or political movements that envisage a socio-economic system in which property and the distribution of wealth are subject to control by the community[1] for the purposes of increasing social and economic equality and cooperation. ...

Effectiveness

Stamp

When the army and the Volkspolizei erected the Berlin Wall in 1961, it was declared by the East German leadership that it would protect East Germany against the negative elements of Western society, particularly fascist sympathizers (the wall was officially called the "anti-fascist protection rampart") and help on the way to a crime-free workers' state. Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 494 pixelsFull resolution (1978 × 1221 pixel, file size: 266 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Other versions unknown File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 494 pixelsFull resolution (1978 × 1221 pixel, file size: 266 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Other versions unknown File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... East German construction workers building the Berlin Wall, November 20, 1961. ...

This partially came true. In comparison to West Germany, East Germany had almost no crime. This was largely because the Volkspolizei and the Stasi were ruthless in their pursuit of real and alleged criminals and did not have to follow the same procedures as Western police forces. Logo of East Germanys Ministerium für Staatssicherheit (MfS or Stasi) / Ministry for State Security This article is about Stasi, the secret police of East Germany. ...

This low crime level changed, just as the leaders said it would, when the Wall fell in 1989. The unfamiliarity of the Volkspolizei with what were everyday occurrences in the West meant that the Volkspolizei were suddenly hit with crimes they were neither equipped nor trained to solve after 1989. In Leipzig, for example, cases of serious theft rose 540% from 1989 to 1990. Leipzig ( ; Sorbian/Lusatian: Lipsk from the Sorbian word for Tilia) is, with a population of over 506,000, the largest city in the federal state of Saxony, Germany. ...

History

Foundation

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 October 31, 1945. Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... The Big Three at the Yalta Conference, Winston Churchill, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Joseph Stalin. ... Harry S. Truman and Joseph Stalin meeting at the Potsdam Conference on July 18, 1945. ... The Soviet Military Administration in Germany (Russian initials: SVAG (Советская военная администрация в Германии, СВ&#1040... A community is a social group of organisms sharing an environment, normally with shared interests. ... is the 304th day of the year (305th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar). ...

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. Wehrmacht   (armed forces, literally defence force(s)) was the name of the armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. ... Communism is an ideology that seeks to establish a classless, stateless social organization based on common ownership of the means of production. ... The three-pointed red star, symbol of the International Brigades The International Brigades were Republican military units in the Spanish Civil War, formed of many non-state sponsored volunteers of different countries who traveled to Spain, to fight for the republic in the Spanish Civil War between 1936 and 1939. ... It has been suggested that Martyrs of the Spanish Civil War be merged into this article or section. ...

It is not completely clear why the Soviet Union founded the Volkspolizei. The establishment of a force made up of Germans would imply that a sovereign German state would be on the way; however, Josef Stalin had no intention of pursuing this goal any further, at least in 1946. (Russian, in full: Ио́сиф Виссарио́нович Ста́лин [Iosif Vissarionovich Stalin]; December 18 [O.S. December 6] 1878[1] – March 5, 1953) was the leader of the Soviet Union from the mid-1920s to his death in 1953 and General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (1922-1953...

It has been speculated that the Soviets attempted to mould East German society so as to be similar to the Soviet Union's. In the Soviet Union, uniformed troops assigned to tactical groups to combat counterrevolution were subordinate to the Ministry of the Interior, and the Volkspolizei was organised in the same fashion. A counterrevolutionary is anyone who opposes a revolution, particularly those who act after a revolution to try to overturn or reverse it, in full or in part. ...

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. The Transportpolizei was the East German police force that dealt with modes of transit. ...

Oath

German: Ich schwöre,

meinem sozialistischen Vaterland, der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik und ihrer Regierung allzeit treu ergeben zu sein, Dienst- und Staatsgeheimnisse zu wahren und die Gesetze und Weisungen genau einzuhalten.

Ich werde unentwegt danach streben, gewissenhaft, ehrlich, mutig, diszipliniert und wachsam meine Dienstpflichten zu erfüllen.

Ich schwöre,

daß ich, ohne meine Kräfte zu schonen, auch unter Einsatz meines Lebens, die sozialistische Gesellschafts-, Staats- und Rechtsordnung, das sozialistische Eigentum, die Persönlichkeit, die Rechte und das persönliche Eigentum der Bürger vor verbrecherischen Anschlägen schützen werde.

Sollte ich dennoch diesen meinen feierlichen Eid brechen, so möge mich die Strafe der Gesetze unserer Republik treffen. ^[1]

English:

I swear

to be loyal to my socialist fatherland, the German Democratic Republic and its government at all times, to keep official and state secrets, and to strictly obey laws and instructions.

I will unswervingly strive to fullfill my official duties conscientiously, honestly, courageously, vigilantly and with discipline.

I swear

that I will, without preserving my forces, under risk of my life protect the socialist social, state and legal order, the socialist property, the personality, the rights and the personal property of the citizens against felonious attacks.

If I nevertheless break this, my solemn oath, I shall be confronted with the punishment of the laws of our republic.

Purges

Stamp Of transport polizei

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 the West, 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. Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 483 pixelsFull resolution (1991 × 1201 pixel, file size: 265 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 483 pixelsFull resolution (1991 × 1201 pixel, file size: 265 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... In history and political science, to purge is to remove undesirable people from a government, political party, profession, or from community/society as a whole, usually by violent means. ... Geneva Convention definition A prisoner of war (POW) is a soldier, sailor, airman, or marine who is imprisoned by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict. ... The term Western world, the West or the Occident (Latin occidens -sunset, -west, as distinct from the Orient) [1] can have multiple meanings dependent on its context (e. ...

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. The Politics series Politics Portal This box:      Politics is the process by which groups of people make decisions. ... It has been suggested that Martyrs of the Spanish Civil War be merged into this article or section. ... Wilhelm Zaisser Wilhelm Zaisser (June 20, 1893-March 3, 1958) was head of East Germany’s Stasi from 1950 to 1953. ... A defence minister (Commonwealth English) or defense minister (American English) is a cabinet portfolio (position) which regulates the armed forces in a sovereign nation. ...

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. Categories: Stub | East Germany ...

Uprising of 1953

The first major use of the Volkspolizei in a crisis situation was on June 17, 1953, when workers in East Berlin rioted because of the raising of work quotas without an increase in salary. This led to mass demonstrations and strikes across East Germany. Backed by Red Army tanks, the Volkspolizei broke the strikes and killed about 50 people. A crisis (plural: crises) is a turning point or decisive moment in events. ... is the 168th day of the year (169th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1953 (MCMLIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Look up quota in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... For other uses, see Demonstration. ... For other organizations known as the Red Army, see Red Army (disambiguation). ...

1953-1990

The police becomes its own sports association named Sportvereinigung Dynamo at March 27th, 1953. On August 17, 1961, the Volkspolizei shot and killed a man trying to escape over the Berlin Wall into West Germany, Peter Fechter. Sportvereinigung Dynamo (Sport Association Dynamo) was a German sports club from the time of the German Democratic Republic. ... March 27 is the 86th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (87th in Leap years). ... Year 1953 (MCMLIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 229th day of the year (230th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1961 (MCMLXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Portrait photograph of Peter Fechter Peter Fechter (14 January 1944 – 17 August 1962) was a bricklayer from East Berlin, who at the age of eighteen became one of the first victims of the Berlin Walls border guards. ...

The last East German law regarding the organisation of the police was passed in 1968, saying that the duty of the policeman was not only the aversion of danger, but also "the protection of socialist achievements, of free life and the creative work of mankind". Socialism refers to a broad array of doctrines or political movements that envisage a socio-economic system in which property and the distribution of wealth are subject to control by the community[1] for the purposes of increasing social and economic equality and cooperation. ... Look up Creativity in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

This very broad definition effectively raised the Volkspolizei to executives of state power, able to use the law to justify nearly any action.After the fall of East Germany, the Vopo system went out of business.

Following reunification

Following German reunification, the new German government began a massive overhaul of its police force, starting with officers formerly in the employ of the Volkspolizei. German reunification (German: ) took place on October 3, 1990, when the areas of the former German Democratic Republic (GDR, in English commonly called East Germany) were incorporated into the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG, in English commonly called West Germany). The start of this reunification process is commonly referred to...

As the modi operandi of the West and East German police forces differed vastly, Volkspolizei officers had to be retrained and taught the basic principles of West German justice, division of power and monopoly of power. Modus operandi (often used in the abbreviated form MO) is a Latin phrase, approximately translated as mode of operation. ... This article is about the concept of justice. ...

For example, many Volkspolizei officers were shocked to find out that they were no longer allowed to perform searches without an official court warrant.

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. Ex "VoPo"s are often on the receiving end of condescension from former West German officers. Social stigma is severe social disapproval of personal characteristics or beliefs that are against cultural norms. ... For other uses, see Cold War (disambiguation). ...

Many police chiefs will hesitate before sending ex-Volkspolizei officers into demonstration situations, as the intensive training in violently breaking demonstrations Volkspolizei officers received may come back instinctively ^{[citation needed]}. For other uses, see Instinct (disambiguation). ...

References

External links

• 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
• Former volkspolizist site in German.