Orchestra of the Berlin People's Police
The orchestra of the Berlin People's Police was founded on October 1, 1948 in Berlin as the first uniformed wind orchestra after the end of the Second World War. At the beginning the chief conductor was Colonel Music Director Willi Kaufmann .
In April 1958 the name was changed to the Central Orchestra of the Ministry of the Interior of the GDR . In 1960, Kaufmann gave up management. His successor was Wolfgang Ahrendt , who was followed by Helmut Sommer until 1990 .
After the People's Police was founded on July 1, 1945, between 1945 and 1946 various state police orchestras with a size of 35–40 musicians were formed in Berlin , Potsdam , Schwerin , Halle , Erfurt and Dresden . On October 7, 1949, on the occasion of the founding of the GDR, the "Orchestra of the Berlin People's Police" performed the GDR's national anthem in public for the first time .