The Early Years of East Germany

[Ralph P]

Sven - A very educational follow up post with some good background information to read...thanks!!! Was there any major changes with the police force when the Wall came down for the good or bad?

Have you talked with Jürgen Schubert since he took up his new position?

Thanks again for the post...

[SvenWittnebel]

The former Volkspolizei is now totally organized like the (West-) German police, the Bahnpolizei of the Bundesbahn or the Transportpolizei of the Reichsbahn didn't exist as these railway authorities are now not longer ownend by the state(s). Bahnpolizei is now a branch of the Bundespolizei = the former BGS.

BGS and Bereitschaftspolizei lost their combatant status and "heavy" weapons (G3, MG3, handgrenade DM51, 81mm mortar, 81mm Bazooka, and the BGS the APC SW2 with 20mm machine cannon).

And I made a mistake (my memory... it's more than twenty years ago ). My platoon captain (PHK = Polizeihauptkommisar = Hauptmann) was a Jürgen K.
Jürgen Schubert was a captain in the second company of our battalion, I was in the fourth.
(Einsatzabteilung = battalion, Einsatzbereitschaft = company. We had these days five battalions with each four companys with each four platoons plus a Technische Einsatzabteilung = engineer battalion with three companys in West-Berlin).
His and my company were billet in the same quarter, so we met some times for playing Skat or Doppelkopf when we were at alert status during the times of the house squatter riots, waiting for the alarm signal.
That's why I remember his name, he was one of the officers who don't differentiate between the ranks.

And no, I never met him again after I left the Bepo.

[Ralph P]

Sven - During your time as a police office did you receive training with any heavy weapons before the Wall coming down? What does PHM stand for?

And you make a good comment that any officer or leader who treats persons that are either higher or lower rank with the same respect is a very good leader who will be remembered...

Thanks...

[Gordon Craig]

Sven,

Ralph started us off with the Early Years and we have now moved on the end and post DDR days of the East German Police. With the reunification of Germany the BGS absorbed the responsibility for federal policing of the former East German Landes. I beleive at this time they formed the "Grenschutzpresidium Ost". Do you know what part of the former East German Police force, if any, formed the BGS Ost in the former East Germany. It is my understanding that the senior oficers were all BGS men but the bulk of the force came from East German police organizations. Are you familiar wioth what happened here? For interests sake I've attached the breast badge of the Grenschutzpresidium Ost. This breast badge is on the uniform of President Lothar Pusch who was killed in a helicopter crash in the 90's.

[SvenWittnebel]

... Do you know what part of the former East German Police force, if any, formed the BGS Ost in the former East Germany. It is my understanding that the senior oficers were all BGS men but the bulk of the force came from East German police organizations. ...

Circa 7.000 men of the Grenztruppen der DDR were absorbed into the BGS, now Bundespolizei.

[SvenWittnebel]

Sven - During your time as a police office did you receive training with any heavy weapons before the Wall coming down? What does PHM stand for?
...

We call the "heavy weapons" "besondere Waffen = special weapons"

Until the wall came down we had a frequently training with P1/P6, MPl/MP5, G3 and MG3 (but only with bipod).
Handgrenades, mortars, Bazookas and the Feldlafette/tripod were stored since the mid seventies into the western Alliies armories. Some kind of PC to show that we were a more civilian police...

Our Senator od the interior and the police generals (Polizeidirektor/Leitender Polizeidirektor) tells us: "If we need the special weapons, we have enough old guys with the knowledge to use them and to advice the younger workmates..."

PHM = Polizeihauptmeister. Last rank of the NCO class but not to compare with the normal military ranking system, more like the US specialists. Same wage as a PK (Polizeikommisar = Leutnant in the Bundeswehr), but more wage as an Bw-Leutnant.