People's Police Lake

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The Volkspolizei See (VP-See) was part of the Barracked People's Police of the GDR . It was created on July 1, 1952 by renaming the Maritime Police and in March 1956 was transferred to the naval forces of the National People's Army , later the People's Navy . The sea hydrographic service of the GDR belonged to the VP-See .

history

After the end of the Second World War , the Soviet Union began to advance the armament in the Soviet occupation zone (SBZ) and later GDR at an early stage . As early as 1950, with the support of Soviet officers, the “ Headquarters Seepolizei ” was set up, which was renamed “Volkspolizei See” (VP-See) on July 1, 1952.

At this point in time, a new “Grenzpolizei See”, which had to secure the inner German border, was spun off from parts of the previous maritime police as part of the German border police that had existed since 1946 . She received eight watch boats and some of the staff from the maritime police.

The management organization of the maritime police was initially retained, but the names were changed. The Main Administration Seepolizei (HVS) was renamed the Staff of the People's Police Lake, headed by the chief of the VP-See. He was also the Deputy Minister of the Interior . After the workers' uprising on June 17, 1953 , the barracked people's police were restructured. It was headed by a head of the KVP, initially Lieutenant General Heinz Hoffmann . The chief VP-See, Vice-Admiral Waldemar Verner , lost his position as deputy minister and the staff of VP-See was relocated from Berlin to Stralsund - Parow in July 1953 , and a year later to Rostock .

After the GDR acceded to the Warsaw Pact in 1955, preparations were made for the transfer of the VP-See to the new naval forces of the GDR and carried out on March 1, 1956.

staff

When it was set up, the VP-See took over those parts of the maritime police that had not been transferred to the service of the border police. Numerous hires, especially in the second half of 1952, more than doubled the workforce to around 5,900 by the end of 1952. Many of the new employees had no previous military knowledge and were trained in courses at the VP-See schools. At the end of 1952 the first officers who were still trained in the maritime police could be appointed. In the fall of 1954 there were 1,478 so-called course students in officer training at the Naval Officers Training College in Parow and the workforce, excluding civilian employees, was 8,107 officers, NCOs and men.

The training of higher officers took place largely in the Soviet Union. Even before the founding of the GDR, the Soviet military administration in Germany had ordered in spring 1949 to identify 150 candidates for general and staff officer duties in all branches of the armed forces who had been trained in the Soviet Union from September 1949. In 1952, 50 members of the VP Sea began a two-year special training course to become naval officers in Kaliningrad for the first time . This training was supplemented by technical and admiral staff courses in Leningrad , in which officers of the VP Sea participated from 1954. In 1955, the head of the VP-See, Vice Admiral Verner, was transferred to Leningrad for such an admiral staff course and was represented by Rear Admiral Felix Scheffler until his return in 1957, now as head of the GDR naval forces .

The members of the VP-See carried police designations until September 1952, after which military ranks were introduced. While the ranks were based on earlier German designations, the uniforms and rank badges were based on Soviet models.

Ships

The VP-See initially had a small number of vehicles that it had taken over from the maritime police, including six clearing boats and a few guard boats ( KS boats ). In addition, the maritime police had commissioned some larger minesweepers, so-called mine - laying and clearing boats (MLR boats), the first of which was delivered in 1952. Twelve boats of this type of hawk were procured.

According to Soviet plans, it should receive a considerable number of warships suitable for warfare in the coastal apron. On this basis, the management of the VP-See developed a planning proposal in 1952, which was expanded again in 1953. It provided for the procurement of a total of 314 vehicles, including 139 combat ships and 13 submarines . These plans turned out to be unrealistic and were partially revised after June 17, 1953.

During the transition to the new naval forces of the GDR in March 1956, the VP-See had 12 MLR boats, 26 patrol boats, 27 small minesweepers and -pinassen, 23 school boats and ships, 49 support vessels and two anti-aircraft guns - batteries , for which, however, no Staff was present.

Submarines

On December 5, 1952, a submarine training institute (ULA) was set up in Sassnitz-Dwasieden under the name Sonderprojekt S 7 , at which the crews for the planned 13-14 submarines were to be trained. The commanding officer was the later Rear Admiral Heinrich Jordt . It was expected that the Soviet Navy would hand over its own boats or booty boats to the Kriegsmarine . The project was canceled after June 17, 1953. Although several submarines of the Kriegsmarine were salvaged and preserved in the Baltic Sea until 1956 and Soviet plans still provided for six submarines in 1956, the Volksmarine later did not develop a submarine weapon.

bases

While the maritime police initially relied on Wolgast , the VP-See moved the boats lying there to Peenemünde on Usedom in August . In addition, the port of Sassnitz on Rügen was expanded because of its greater water depths. From 1954 , bases located further west were established in Rostock - Hohe Düne and in Tarnewitz .

As part of the targeted build-up of naval forces, it was also planned to set up a large new base on Rügen, the Rügen port . This was preceded by Soviet considerations for a separate base at this point. Most of the construction work on this project, which had to be carried out by prisoners, was also discontinued after June 17, 1953, in which some of the prisoners also participated, and was not resumed later, although it was still in 1955 in the plans of the VP-See as the main fleet base was conducted.

literature

  • Fritz Minow, Die Volkspolizei-See (VP-See) 1952-1956 , in: Hartmut Klüver (ed.): Stations of German naval history (II): Deutsche Seeverbände 1945-1956 . Düsseldorf 2001, ISBN 3-935091-08-7 . P. 109 ff.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h i Fritz Minow, Die Volkspolizei-See (VP-See) 1952−1956 . In: Hartmut Klüver (ed.): Stations of German naval history (II): German Sea Associations 1945-1956, Düsseldorf 2001, ISBN 3-935091-08-7 . P. 109ff.
  2. ↑ Günther Pöschel . The training of future leaders of the naval forces of the GDR in “Sonderlehrgang-I” (Kaliningrad) and at the Naval War Academy Leningrad of the Soviet fleet 1952-1956 . In: Hartmut Klüver (ed.): Stations of German naval history (II): German Sea Associations 1945-1956, Düsseldorf 2001, ISBN 3-935091-08-7 . P. 129ff.
  3. ↑ Stephen Chumbley, Robert Gardiner: Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1947-1995. Anapolis 1996, ISBN 978-1557-5013-25 , p. 139; In contrast: Siegfried Breyer, Peter-Joachim Lapp: The People's Navy of the GDR . Koblenz 1985, ISBN 3-7637-5423-7 : 10 boats
  4. ↑ Ingo Pfeiffer. The submarine training institute of the VP-See . In: Marineforum 4-2002 p. 28ff.
  5. ^ Ingo Pfeiffer: naval port project failed due to popular uprising . In: Marineforum 12/1992, p. 437f