Volunteers for the border troops
The voluntary helpers of the border troops (FHG) were civil helpers of the border troops of the GDR in the German Democratic Republic , who allegedly voluntarily participated in the, according to the official GDR definition, "active participation in ensuring public order and security to protect workers and- Bauern-Macht ”were active in the service of the border troops and thus made their “ social contribution to the consolidation of socialism on German soil ” . Contrary to its definition, its primary task was to detect and prevent possible escape attempts . It was founded on June 5, 1958. On October 2, 1990, the legal basis for this activity in the course of German reunification was suspended by the Unification Treaty.
Development of volunteers
Six years after the formation of the voluntary helpers of the People's Police and two years after the founding of the NVA in 1956, but before the complete cordoning off of the inner German border and the building of the Wall in August 1961, the "volunteers to support the border police" were appointed on June 5, 1958 legally anchored in the state system of the GDR. The opening words of the relevant regulation were:
“ The working population in the border districts of the German Democratic Republic has often expressed the wish to be able to support the German border police through voluntary cooperation in ensuring the inviolability of the borders of the German Democratic Republic and preventing border violations. "
For this purpose, citizens of the GDR who wished to volunteer to support the German border police in ensuring the inviolability of the GDR's borders and preventing border violations could be admitted as volunteers.
This was preceded by the GDR's accession to the Warsaw Pact on May 14, 1955 , making the inner-German border the dividing line between two opposing military blocs ( NATO and Warsaw Pact) and social systems . On August 25, 1952, the first 543 border police volunteers were called in to help secure the border. However, not yet under their later official name. Membership in the Warsaw Pact required the GDR leadership to have much more stringent requirements regarding the protection of the inner-German border. Therefore, on December 1, 1955, the border police took over the security of the entire state border of the GDR, which also included the borders with the People's Republic of Poland and Czechoslovakia . At that time, the border with West Berlin was still completely subject to the Soviet administration in Berlin. The party and state leadership subsequently passed resolutions and ordinances to support the border police, which, however, did not have sufficient resources to protect the inner German border across the board. The ordinances concerned both the change in the previous structure and the training and equipment of the border police. It was foreseeable, however, that despite this restructuring, the tasks set could only be fully fulfilled with the help of the population of the residential areas near the border. The government then activated all local state organs in the respective border areas and began massively calling on the population to help protect the state border. The appeals as well as the "educational work" of the local organs, not least the FDJ, produced certain successes. Compared to the People's Police, which at that time already had tens of thousands of helpers, the border guards only had a few thousand. However, that was enough to create the conditions for the decree on June 5, 1958 to be passed on the admission of volunteers to support the German border police. It was initially limited to three paragraphs, of which the third only concerned the proclamation and the second concerned the application of the ordinance on the admission of volunteers to support the People's Police of September 25, 1952.
After the establishment of the border troops voluntary helpers, they were an integral part of the border troops of the GDR within the NVA until 1973, after which, at least on the paper, they were an independent group of troops under the command of the Ministry of National Defense. To legitimize them, like their comrades in the People's Police, they received an ID card with all important personal data and authorizations, which the helper had to show without being asked.
The tasks shifted decisively in the following decades. The border police volunteer was no longer tasked with protecting the GDR from external enemies, but rather with preventing people from fleeing the GDR. The helpers no longer had to protect their GDR from the Western class enemy, but were supposed to stop the GDR from bloodletting citizens.
From the helpers of the border police to the helpers of the border troops
On April 8, 1964, the previously separate legal bases of the voluntary helpers of the border troops and those of the voluntary helpers of the People's Police were combined and combined in a new regulation. It now consistently regulated the rights and duties of the volunteer helpers in a final catalog list, but without taking sufficient account of the border troops, who from this ordinance were no longer called border police helpers but border troop helpers . The powers of the border troops volunteers, on the other hand, were summarized in a single paragraph and consisted of the identification of personal details and the transfer of suspicious persons. So it was hardly surprising that more than 90 percent of the new regulation was clearly tailored to that of the volunteers of the People's Police. A circumstance that was considered unsatisfactory for most of the border troop volunteers. Most of the volunteer helpers of the border troops continued to do their duty on the inner German border in the so-called "restricted areas" as well as on the border with West Berlin and their entrances and exits, with the transit highways being the focus of the action. They were also used on the border of the Baltic Sea coast. It was rare, but not unusual, for volunteers to work on the borders with Warsaw Pact countries. Most of the workforce was recruited from the surrounding communities towards the border. Using this “home advantage”, their local knowledge was used by the regular border troops for the purpose of military reconnaissance in order to be able to better monitor any secret routes. The patrol usually takes place on foot independently or in groups of two to three people, but also when accompanied by the border troops in train strength . Expressed in numbers, this meant 1: 3: 27. This meant that for every platoon leader there were three group leaders, each of whom in turn was subordinate to nine volunteer helpers. In addition, the service with the border troops for the helpers was counted as reserve service. A superior officer of the border troops was shared with him as part of the mission. Usually that was the platoon leader of the relevant section. However, regular border guards were also authorized to give instructions to the volunteers. The border troop volunteers were not only the “green foot patrol”, but were also made up of other people who did not operate directly at the border. The pool of volunteers from the border troops also included taxi, bus and truck drivers and innkeepers in the vicinity. In other words, those people who were professionally able to report possible suspects or their conversations to the border troops or the state security. Their weekly assignment comprised around eight to ten hours.
Transfer to the scope of the border troops
As already mentioned, the 1964 regulation did not satisfy the tasks and powers of the border troops volunteers in their particular environment. The joint regulation brought hardly any advantages to the helpers at the borders, in fact it was only the legitimation on paper without seriously recording their special status. The old regulation was not reformed until April 1, 1982, with effect from May 1, 1982. At this point in time, the border troops who had volunteered until 1972 had been an official part of the NVA, had already passed into the new scope of the border troops of the GDR, which, at least on paper, were to be viewed independently of the NVA. In 1982 the two groups of the People's Police and the border troops were formally separated again. The voluntary helpers of the border troops were given their own legal basis again, in the newly enacted law on the state border of the German Democratic Republic of March 25, 1982 with effect from May 1, 1982. This took place in parallel with the ordinance on the helpers of the People's Police and the implementing ordinance issued for it, also from the same day. According to this law, all citizens of the GDR now had the right and also the duty to support the protective and security organs in the fulfillment of their tasks to protect the state border. So every citizen from the age of 18 could become a volunteer helper for the border troops. As before with the helpers of the People's Police, this was done through suggestions from social organizations or associations or based on one's own application. Then the confirmation as a helper and the corresponding obligation by the responsible authorities of the NVA followed. The powers of the volunteer helpers of the border troops, who by the way could not reach the scope of the catalog of powers of the helpers of the People's Police, primarily again included the (confirmed) right to independently determine or record personal details if there was a reasonable suspicion of a border violation or violation order and security existed in the border area. They could, however, continue to bring suspicious or suspicious persons to the nearest border troop office or hand them over to a member of the border or people's police. As already regulated in the first ordinance of 1964, the latter measure would only require a presumption or even the lack of an identity card. The application of the delegated powers of the border troop volunteer included an operational area with a depth of 5 km, calculated from the border to the interior of the country.
Number of volunteers
In this context, previous sources name a number of 2500 volunteers for the border troops, who, however, are said to have existed from the time they were founded and until they were dissolved. Other sources in turn assume 4,000 volunteers. However, this should not represent the total number, but rather the annual workforce. Other sources speak of exactly 5565 volunteers of the border troops as of November 30, 1982, or about 3000 volunteers at the end of the 1980s. Probably the most reliable number comes from a major request from the CDU / CSU parliamentary group on April 4, 1977 to the German Bundestag, in whose report the federal government spoke of 2,000 volunteers. The details of the inner-German border must be put into this context. In the spring of 1977, the GDR's blocking and security systems consisted of:
- Metal mesh fence: 1083 km
- double barbed wire fence : 316 km
- Protective strip fence: 788 km
- Minefields : 491 km
- Self-firing ranges : 249 km
- Concrete barrier / screens: 8 km
- Motor vehicle trench not concreted: 739 km
- Concrete vehicle trench: 478 km
- Light barriers: 212 km
- Dog runs: 224 km
- Earth bunker : 939 (of which with precast concrete parts 717)
- Observation and watchtowers : 392
- Observation stands: 67
- Border security on the Elbe: 20 boats and border security boats
In addition, there are around 1700 km of GDR coastline, most of which were also classified as border areas. The Federal Government was not only informed about the number of volunteer helpers of the border troops, but also that the majority of them were former members of the GDR border troops and that they were subordinate to the local border companies. These border companies were also responsible for their organization and training.
Employment requirements and suggestion system
The ordinance on voluntary helpers of the border troops of 1958, in which, among other things, the regulations on voluntary helpers of the People's Police were to be applied, also related to the recruitment requirements for prospective helpers with the border troops. In principle, every citizen of the GDR who had reached the age of 18 and was fit for health was appropriate for the service as a volunteer helper for the border troops. Until 1964, however, the age of 17 was still valid here. It should be noted that, as with the helpers of the People's Police, countless prospective volunteers followed the recommendations or the targeted propaganda of the party leadership in the district or district offices, or through recommendations from their own combine , factory or plant management in order to get to the To climb a few rungs on the career ladder or at least to show a socialist curriculum vitae through this honorary service . This also happened against the background of a possibly beginning studies . The prerequisite for employment was that the prospective border troop helper had the “correct socialist attitude” in the sense of the social order of the GDR and was willing to support the border troops.
Rights and obligations
The border troop volunteers had to independently or in groups record the personal details of suspicious people who could turn out to be border violators. This handling was usually sufficient even if there was only justified suspicion of a possible border violation or a possible violation of the border regulations of the GDR. It was usually enough if the person in question was unable to identify himself or herself correctly or at all. In cases of actual border violations, such as an attempt to escape - regardless of whether the attempt got stuck in its beginnings, had just started or was taking place immediately - the border troop volunteers were obliged to provide the fugitive immediately. Since they were not allowed to carry weapons according to the legal basis, they were picked up by manual action, i. H. by tracking and eliminating the danger. The fugitive or the border violator was then immediately handed over to the regular border security authorities. The Federal Government formulated the tasks of the border workers as follows:
- Monitoring of the border area
- Control of traffic on the access roads to the exclusion zone
- Detection of suspicious persons in the border area and
- the search and arrest of border violators
Basic tactical rules in patrol duty
For the volunteer helpers of the border troops, there were usually three types of patrol in parallel to the helpers of the People's Police: foot patrol , bicycle patrol and motorcycle patrol . The former also with guard dogs. Car patrols are rare, but also occur, mainly in rural areas with a correspondingly larger task area. As a rule, the voluntary helpers of the border troops were instructed directly in the section to be checked by their superiors and at the same time they were given focal points and objects that deserved special attention were shown.
Foot patrol
- Take moderate steps, stop frequently and observe - do not move in the flow of passers-by
- Choose and observe favorable locations at important points such as danger spots
- adhere to fixed times and (monitoring) rooms
- Submit or report situation reports to responsible VP members at set times
- No smoking, drinking or eating while on patrol
- Visit restaurants and other public buildings only for compelling reasons or by order together with the section authorized representative, independently only to check for the protection of children and young people regulation, control of the police hour, etc.
- Consolidation of understanding in the area of local social forces such as porters, tank attendants, sales staff
- Keep in touch with VP members and other volunteers in the area and avoid standing together unnecessarily
Bicycle patrol
- Drive slowly and constantly observe the surroundings
- Conscientiously comply with traffic regulations
- Interrupt trips, push the bike and patrol - stopping more often and watching
- Park your bike before intervening
- Use mobility with the bike - special hot spots that require careful observation, pass several times from different directions
Moped / motorcycle patrol
- Precise imprint of prominent observation points before patrols
- Select the travel speed so that the strip area to be driven can be clearly observed
- Compliance with traffic regulations
- Carry out foot stripes at defined breakpoints or take control
- park the vehicle properly when intervening in a situation
Night behavior
- Tactics of hearing and seeing a lot with your own cover
- Adhere to a moderate sequence of steps and adequate distances to the house
- stopping more often in inanimate places and observing the tactics mentioned above
- surprising appearances in places that were only recently observed
- Never turn your back to people approaching from behind - turn around in good time, walk towards them or let them by
- when stepping in, keep your distance from the person while leaving your back free
training
In the founding phase of the border police volunteers, training was carried out by authorized officers of the People's Police. For this purpose, specially qualified section representatives were delegated to the border regions in order to take over the training of the helpers there. They were often moved to move to the border region. After this phase, the border troops of the NVA gradually took over the training and instruction for the volunteers. Marxism-Leninism in the sense of ideological-political training was one of the main subjects, which was also repeatedly deepened and queried at regular intervals. In addition, there was also a lot of military sport to be done with the border guards , which was completed with professional instructions. Furthermore, they were trained in teaching the basics of police tactics and border police tactics as well as further instruction in basic military knowledge, which can be compared with today's general basic training , but not in the use of weapons.
Equipment and clothing
The equipment of the volunteers of the border troops differed little from that of the volunteers of the People's Police. In contrast to their comrades, these helpers had camouflage nets, binoculars or similar utensils used by the border troops. This also included an inflatable air cushion for the buttocks and the mandatory first aid kit. Their clothes were either privately owned, i.e. H. civilian or they got their clothing directly from the NVA assembly camps. The footwear of the volunteers in the border areas, which consisted mainly of grass or mud areas, consisted of walking boots, as was the case with the People's Police. Popular with the volunteers of the border troops had on their heads, the boat of the NVA with cockade. Similar to the red armband of the volunteer helpers of the People's Police, the volunteer helpers of the border troops also wore an armband on their left upper arm, but only from 1982 in green with the white inscription: Freiwilliger Helfer (above) and DER GRENZTRUPPEN (below). The symbol of the border troops, the round state coat of arms of the GDR, was embroidered between the lines. The height of the band was approx. 80 mm and its width 130 mm, with the national coat of arms having a diameter of approx. 20 mm. The relatively late introduction of the green armband, up to now the red armband, was due to the introduction of the badge for voluntary helpers of the border troops of the GDR on April 8, 1983 with ordinance number 018/9/001 by the Minister for National Defense Heinz Hoffmann had been donated. With this regulation, the volunteers of the border troops were also given the right to wear their own armbands. The use of handguns is still controversial today . Both the volunteer helpers of the People's Police and the volunteer helpers of the border troops did not have the right to carry a service weapon. This power was specifically not mentioned in the 1952, 1958, 1964 or 1982 regulations.
Insurance and criminal justice protection
The voluntary helpers of the border troops were also insured for the voluntary helpers of the People's Police in the course of their voluntary work, both in terms of legal and insurance protection. The border troops reimbursed the expenses or expenses incurred on duty. The mentioned insurance cover itself included all citizens who suffered an accident during organized social, cultural or sporting activities. The insurance cover usually consisted of the company wage compensation and was then legally treated like an accident at work . Organized social activities included all voluntary social activities, including the registration of volunteers for the border troops. For the consequences of an accident, the border troop volunteer was entitled to benefits in kind, an accident pension, care allowance, special care allowance and allowance for the blind. In the event of death, survivors were entitled to funeral allowance and accident survivor's pension. The state social insurance system was responsible for granting the benefit . The underlying accident was within 4 days
- a) In the case of citizens with social insurance, the company or the cooperative,
- b) for pupils and students of the school or university or technical college,
- c) for all other citizens of the responsible social security
to display. In the case of the voluntary helpers, it was usually sufficient to inform the supervisor. The institutions were obliged to report this accident to the responsible occupational health and safety inspection in accordance with the legal provisions. The paper required for this was also marked with GT (social activity).
Badge of honor
In addition to these green armbands, there was a small pin-on badge for the border troop volunteers, parallel to the people's police helper, as already mentioned, which classified the holder as a border troop volunteer. It was also worn on the civilian suit on the lapel of the coat or the shirt collar. However, there were no correct wearing instructions for this. The badge for voluntary helpers of the border troops of the GDR was a shield-shaped badge that was made from sheet steel or another non-ferrous metal and was approximately 39 × 31 mm in size. The edge of the badge was gold, as was the inscription: FREIWILLIGER / HELFER (above) and GRENZTRUPPEN / DER DDR (below). In between, the GDR's national coat of arms was visible, the wreath of ears of which was also gold. The back of the badge was blank and showed a cross-soldered pin with a locking hook.
While the voluntary helpers of the People's Police could now be awarded state decorations with the revision of their regulation from 1982, the law on the state border of the GDR from 1982, i.e. the scope of the voluntary helpers of the border troops, contained no such regulation. In order to compensate for this disadvantage, Erich Honecker created the medal for loyal service of voluntary helpers in protecting the state border of the GDR , which was a service award for up to 30 years of service with the voluntary helpers of the border troops. It was also allowed to be awarded retrospectively if the helper had fulfilled the required minimum time for the respective level. Thus one could honor voluntary helpers retrospectively until 1952, although at that time there were only volunteers of the People's Police. In addition, helpers of the border troops received the medal for exemplary border service for extraordinary achievements, which also included placing or apprehending a border violator , although the award was not actually intended for the helpers. In addition, the border troops of the German Democratic Republic were awarded the Medal of Merit, which could also be awarded to civilians, and thus to the voluntary helpers. The border guards also received the performance badge of the border troops of the GDR as well as a corresponding miniature that was created especially for them and, in contrast to the badge, was not broken.
In addition to these decorations and medals mentioned, there were also official letters of commendation and honors in the form of certificates and the like, which could also be associated with a monetary bonus or gifts in kind.
resolution
The dissolution of the volunteers of the border troops of the GDR proceeded somewhat differently in contrast to the volunteers of the People's Police. Its legal basis was laid down in the "Law on the State Border of the GDR" of March 25, 1982 and, as part of the Unification Treaty, was valid until October 2, 1990, midnight. As of October 3, 1990 00:00:01, Article 8 i. V. m. Article 1 of the Unification Treaty in the course of the accession of the GDR to the Federal Republic of Germany federal law. The only exception was Article 9 of the Unification Treaty, which, however, did not apply to the border guards. The disbandment of the border troops' volunteers was also completed two days after the people's police volunteered. However, as of July 1, 1990, border activities, including those of the regular border troops of the GDR, were stopped. The main task of the border troop volunteers was no longer primarily border protection, but was limited in recent months to various ancillary activities such as handling the increasing number of people and motor vehicle traffic to more and more border openings to the west or the dismantling of border fences.
Historical evaluation
A final evaluation of the border troop volunteers seems difficult because this group, in contrast to the volunteer helpers of the People's Police, carried out their activities rather inconspicuously for the majority of the population of the GDR and their work was limited to the control of people and motor vehicles. Nevertheless, it was precisely for these reasons that the “Green Helpers” caused annoyance among the residents of areas close to the border with their control obligation. Although the border troop volunteers were not directly involved in thwarting attempts to escape with the weapon , as they were not authorized to do so, their activities with regard to possible complicity must be examined in this context. Many voluntary helpers of the border troops were informers and informants of the state security as well as the regular border troops with regard to planned and thus later thwarted escape attempts. It is also a fact that through the active and passive help of the “Green Helpers”, either by apprehending or interpreting circumstantial evidence, countless people, but also members of their own ranks, are persecuted by the GDR's state security, convicted of “ illegally crossing the border ” or deserting , and imprisoned landed or had to fear sanctions and reprisals. Not least for these reasons, the border troops' volunteers were despised and sometimes hated by the population. A summary of their activities is not discernible in the literature published so far, as it is primarily concerned with the offenses or crimes of the regular border troops of the GDR and almost ignores their helpers. However, it should also be mentioned that the border troops volunteered not only for those who were loyal to the regime, but also for those who did not want to identify with the GDR system, or even rejected it. It has also not yet become known that voluntary helpers of the border troops were legally responsible for complicity in the course of the investigation by the public prosecutor.
Known volunteer border workers
- Klaus Bartl ( The Left )
Regulations
- Ordinance on the admission of voluntary helpers to support the German border police of June 5, 1958. Business Journal of the GDR 1958, p. 501.
- Ordinance on the admission and activity of voluntary helpers in support of the German People's Police and the border troops of the National People's Army of March 16, 1964 , Business Gazette of the GDR Part II; No. 30 pp. 241-242.
literature
- Voluntary helpers of the border troops in: Jürgen Ritter, Peter Joachim Lapp: The border: A German building , Ch. Links Verlag, 2009, ISBN 978-3-86153-560-7 .
Web links
- Why volunteers helped the GDR border guards
- Major inquiry from the CDU / CSU regarding Germany policy of April 4, 1977, which also deals with voluntary helpers of the border troops (PDF; 842 kB)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Introductory words to the ordinance on the admission and activity of voluntary helpers to support the German People's Police and the border troops of the NVA of March 16, 1964
- ↑ § 6 paragraph 1, § 8 paragraph 2 of the People's Police Act of the GDR
- ^ Ordinance on the admission of voluntary helpers to support the German border police of June 5, 1958, §§1, 2, Business Gazette of the GDR No. 44 of June 20, 1958, pp. 501–502.
- ^ Ordinance on the admission of voluntary helpers to support the German border police of June 5, 1958, § 2, Business Gazette of the GDR No. 44 of June 20, 1958, p. 502.
- ^ History of the German Police 1945-1961, Deutscher Verlag der Wissenschaften Berlin 1982, p. 270.
- ↑ See ordinance on the voluntary helpers of the German People's Police of April 8, 1964 Ordinance name
- ^ Ordinance on the voluntary helpers of the German People's Police of April 8, 1964 § 4
- ^ Law on the State Border of the GDR of March 25, 1982, Section 20.
- ↑ Law on the State Border of the GDR of March 25, 1982, Section 23, Paragraph 3.
- ↑ Implementing ordinance to the law on the state border of the GDR (border regulation) of March 25, 1982, § 1 para.
- ^ The National People's Army = NVA. ( Memento of the original from November 27, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on: ddr-museum-steinhude.de
- ↑ Why volunteers helped the GDR border guards. on: littleberlin.de
- ^ Documentation of the autumn meeting of the AG Grenz der GRH on December 2, 2006 in Strausberg. ( Memento of the original from June 16, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on: Grenztruppen-der-ddr.org
- ^ The border troops of the GDR. on: Runde-ecke-leipzig.de
- ↑ a b c German Bundestag - printed matter 8/255. (PDF; 842 kB) April 4, 1977.
- ↑ These figures are probably based on reports from the Federal Intelligence Service
- ↑ Bundesdrucksache 8/255 of the 8th electoral term of the German Bundestag, p. 10.
- ↑ Baltic Sea. on: ddr-wissen.de
- ↑ Implementing ordinance to the law on the state border of the GDR of March 25, 1982 § 1
- ^ Ordinance on the voluntary helpers of the German People's Police of April 8, 1964 § 4
- ↑ Merkbuch for Volunteers of the People's Police - Internal Service Instructions of the Ministry of the Interior (For official use only), 1st edition 1976, pp. 15-16.
- ^ Ordinance on the extension of insurance coverage in the event of accidents in the exercise of social, cultural and sporting activities, Business Gazette of the GDR of April 11, 1973, No. 22 p. 199 ff.
- ^ Ordinance on the extension of insurance coverage in the event of accidents in the exercise of social, cultural and sporting activities, Business Gazette of the GDR of April 11, 1973, No. 22 pp. 199–201.
- ↑ K. Feder, J. Wagner, R. Swoboda: Military badges of the GDR. 1st edition. Military Publishing House of the GDR, Berlin 1988, ISBN 3-327-00523-0 , pp. 11-12.
- ↑ MPs: Tracks in the snow . In: Der Spiegel . No. 48 , 1991 ( online ).
