Guard regiment "Feliks Dzierzynski"

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Guard regiment "Feliks Dzierzynski"

Emblem Stasi.svg

Coat of arms of the MfS
active 1954 to October 2, 1990
Country Germany Democratic Republic 1949GDR German Democratic Republic
Armed forces Ministry of State Security
Branch of service infantry
Type Infantry regiment
structure see below
Strength Last 11,426 men
garrison East Berlin
Regimental commander
last Kdr. Major General Manfred Döring
insignia
Gun color burgundy red (other colors for disguise)

The guard regiment "Feliks Dzierzynski" (also guard regiment "Feliks E. Dzierzynski" ) was a military association and part of the armed organs of the GDR . It was founded in November 1954 and was under the Ministry of State Security of the GDR . From 1967 it was named after Feliks Dzierżyński , the founder of the Soviet Russian secret police Cheka .

history

Erich Mielke at the presentation of the name Feliks Edmundowitsch Dzierzynski on December 15, 1967
Mielke (2nd from right) attaches the name ribbon to the troop flag of the guard regiment

The Guard Battalion A at the Stasi , formed in early 1951, was involved in the suppression of the uprising of June 17, 1953 . The guard regiment as the military arm of the Ministry for State Security of the GDR was then set up in November 1954. The staff was housed in Berlin-Adlershof . Units of the guard regiment secured, among other things, the construction of the Berlin Wall in 1961. In 1967 the guard regiment was named Feliks Dzierzynski . Since the mid-1980s, it has been directly under the working group of Minister Erich Mielke . In 1989 more than 11,000 men were subordinate to him. It was dissolved in early 1990 after the fall of the Wall in the GDR . In November 2012, a memorial stone was erected on the site of the former military training area in Massow , to commemorate the guard regiment. A few days later, the property owner had the stone removed.

assignment

The tasks mainly included the military-operational guard and security service (MOS) at state and party institutions in the area of East Berlin and the surrounding area. In the district cities of the GDR, this order was of smaller guard and security units ( WSE performed) of the Stasi. These WSE usually had their service objects on the premises of the respective district administration of the MfS. The guard regiment also formed the government's military-operational reserve to safeguard public order and the government.

Further tasks were:

  • Securing of major events (also in civilian clothes).
  • Securing the Wandlitzer Waldsiedlung (residential property of the party and state leadership)
  • Securing special military facilities ( command facilities / bunkers), e.g. B. Command 4
  • Construction of the bunker systems (e.g. objects 5001 and 5005 ) by the construction battalion of Command 4
  • Securing and guarding construction sites and facilities of the ministry inside and outside Berlin
  • Special units from group to company strength also support other main departments of the MfS in various areas (e.g. honor company (28th and 29th MSK in the 10th MSB), taking over special security measures, transport protection, ministerial reserve (each command A and / or 30th MSK) Mot. Rifle Company (MSK) in the 10th Mot. Rifle Battalion (MSB) dog squadron).

Since at least 1987 the honor companies have been 13th, 14th and RSK (regulatory and location company). In addition, these companies covered the guarding of the Adlershof property and arrest.

organization

Because the regiment was subordinate to the Ministry for State Security and was therefore not officially part of the armed forces, it could be barracked in Berlin- Adlerhof despite the stationing ban in connection with the four-power status . Professional and temporary soldiers served in the regiment .

structure

The division was divided into commands (status 1980 to 1989)

The Ahrensfelde site was not taken over by the guard regiment until mid-January 1989. Until then, it was accommodation for units of the Ministry for State Security formed from UaZ (e.g. security units of the VRD, BdL, HA VI, AGMS). These uniformed groups, like the guard and security units of the district administrations of the MfS (BV), were not subdivisions of the guard regiment. Parts of these units were integrated into the guard regiment in January 1989, which is why the Ahrensfelde site was taken over by the guard regiment. Until 1989 the guard regiment also had no "locations in the districts". The service objects there were guarded by the WSE, which were subordinate to the respective BV.

A company consisted of 100 motorized riflemen, each with three platoons and three groups . The 3rd train was an exception; it consisted of four motorized rifle groups. The 10th MSG of each company was trained on anti-tank weapons.

Locations

Adlershof

View from the 2nd floor of the former staff building 1 (rear services) of the former transport battalion.  Left page: Today the Joseph Schmidt Music School.  Right side with the former dormitory: today advice center for women in need and the Treptow-Köpenick district office.  Photo from 2011. View from the 2nd floor of the former staff building 1 (rear services) of the former transport battalion.  Left page: Today the Joseph Schmidt Music School.  Right side with the former dormitory: today advice center for women in need and the Treptow-Köpenick district office.  Photo from 2011.
View from the 2nd floor of the former staff building 1 (rear services) of the former transport battalion. Left page: Today the Joseph Schmidt Music School. Right side with the former dormitory: today advice center for women in need and the Treptow-Köpenick district office. Photo from 2011.

The Adlershof location comprised:

Exposed lettering

Almost all of the buildings were demolished after 1990. What remained was the parade ground between Rudower Chaussee and the Hans-Schmidt-Straße, which was only created after the fall of the Wall, and the barracks there. In addition to various companies, they now house various authorities in the Treptow-Köpenick district ( employment agency , district office ) and a music school . At the headquarters at Hans-Schmidt-Strasse 4 there is now a studio house for artists that is supported by the Senate for Cultural Affairs. During renovation work on a wall on the second floor of the former main office in 2010, the name of the guard regiment, which was painted in the plaster, was exposed and placed under monument protection.

Erkner

Location Erkner Kommando 2

  • Hauptwache, side entrance with guard building with locks for people and vehicles
  • Headquarters building
  • Vehicle fleet
  • Sales facilities
  • Sports room, soccer field, weight room
  • school-building
  • Dining room for officers, separate from soldiers
  • Crew quarters
  • Med point
  • Storm track
  • fire Department
  • Parade ground
  • Boiler house
  • hair stylist

Guard units were housed at the Erkner site, which were responsible for the following guard objects, for example: Waldsiedlung Wandlitz , Supreme Court , Palace of the Republic , building of the Central Committee of the SED , AdM - the official seat of the Council of Ministers and the State Council building in Berlin-Mitte; Gosen, Hans-Loch-Straße (MfS driver service), Normannenstraße , Gotlindestraße, Siegfriedstraße, government hospital Berlin-Buch as well as in Groß Dölln in the Schorfheide , in Berlin-Hohenschönhausen and Schloss Niederschönhausen . With the beginning of the dissolution of the MfS / AfNS the geophysics object in Karlshorst was added.

The location in Erkner had been the headquarters of the headquarters of Command 4 since the mid-1980s. However, the guard units were in Prenden and Biesenthal.

Prenden

  • barracks
  • object
  • Bunker complex for the state and government management house 1 to house 4 * as of 1986
  • Most secret command of the guard regiment, command IV (tactically part of Erkner, supplied by Erkner, but independently)
  • referred to as "forest people" by soldiers and officers of other regiments
  • Soldiers with high close combat training were under the highest level of secrecy
  • Armament: AK 47 KMS, RPG 7, RPK
  • Vehicles: Ural-375, Lo 2002 A, Ifa W 50 4x4, W 50 L and W50 TLF 16, UAS
  • Uniform: NVA - motorized riflemen
  • The soldiers were sworn in on the sports field of the Teupitz military training area in FDU and without visitors (neither public nor relatives)

Teupitz (TÜT)

The following facilities were located at the Teupitz military training area (TÜT):

  • barracks
  • the command post of the military training area as an independent unit
  • the military training area with a total area of ​​approx. 5000 ha
    • Firing range I for practical training (assault rifle, anti-tank)
    • Shooting range II for theoretical training
    • Firing range for RPG anti-tank grenades
    • Storm track
    • Indoor battleground I
    • House battlefield II
    • Encampment
    • "Tobacco lake" for SPW swimming exercises
    • KLK (motor vehicle training company)
    • Motor vehicle training course with training building for SPW training
    • SPW pulpit shooting range with laser technology
    • Hand grenade throwing area
    • gym
    • Judo hall for martial arts training (Jiu Jitsu)
    • sports ground
    • Tennis court
    • Ammunition store with high voltage safety system (HSA)
    • Fleet with large halls
    • Driver training course for civil vehicles
    • Mobilization park in the ammunition store
    • NCO school for military drivers and for group leaders (GFAK)
    • 1st and 2nd GFAK for the guard regiment, 3rd GFAK for use in the guard and security units of the districts. Accommodation was in barracks,
  • Culture and event center (cinema, stage, restaurant)
  • Medpunkt (polyclinic) with operating theater and permanently present medical team / trauma surgery
  • Point of Sale (MHO)
  • Dining room and barracks kitchen (officers and men separately)
  • Group leader and military driver school (KLK)
  • Boiler house with emergency power system

Personnel development

The strength of the guard regiment was:

1955: 1,475
1960: 4,372
1965: 5.121
1970: 7,924
1975: 9,245
1980: 10,082
1985: 10.192
1989: 11,426

As a result, the association, still known as a “regiment” for reasons of tradition, had in fact had divisions since around 1980 .

guide

Commanders of the guard regiment were:

equipment

uniform

Collar tabs for officers and ensigns (left NVA, right guard regiment)

The regiment's service or exit uniform was an NVA uniform made of high quality (officer's) fabric and brown (officer's) leather belt. Collar tab with burgundy red cantilla filling. The left sleeve was provided with a sleeve strip and the inscription "Wachregiment F. Dzierzynski". Soldiers of the MOS units typically had the following personal uniforms:

  • 1 × service uniform (peaked cap, uniform jacket, parade trousers (boot trousers, also called "riding trousers"), gray shirt, tie, officer boots grained, brown belt, coat in winter, natural sheepskin coat in very cold weather without rank insignia)
  • 1 × exit uniform (peaked cap, uniform jacket, exit trousers, gray shirt, tie, coat in winter, low shoes, brown belt)
  • 1 × field service uniform summer ("one line, not one line", steel helmet ("egg shell") / cap , gray belt, officer boots grained)
  • 1 × field service uniform winter (padded trousers and jacket with faux fur collar, unicolour - olive green, fur hat, gray belt belt, officer boots grained, felt boots when it's very cold)
  • 1 × special service uniform (uniform jacket, parade trousers (boot trousers, also called "riding trousers"), gray shirt, tie, smooth officer boots, belt, professional NCOs with at least NCO shoulder pieces (even if the soldier in question was only a temporary soldier and was only a soldier in rank - according to the Basic training, however, were all qualified as private.) (Not in the personal locker))
  • 1 × Drillich (work uniform)
  • 1 × service uniform winter
  • 1 × “ Dynamo ” long sports suit in wine red, black sneakers

In Command 4 - Eberswalde -Finow near Bernau , UaZ, professional NCOs and professional officers wore regular NVA uniforms with the weapon color black ( pioneers ) and white ( motorized rifle troops ) to camouflage the guard regimental operation.

Civil clothing

Official

The civilian clothes were given out for use in the clothing store and were fairly uniform. It was often atypical for supposedly “young people”, so that the clothing was not infrequently conspicuous. The civilian clothes should not have any camouflage function anyway, as the presence of security forces was shown quite openly, which was exactly one of the tasks of the Berlin Guard Regiment. Camouflaged forces were often also posted and remained unknown to the soldiers of the guard regiment. From 1987 at the latest, only private civilian clothing was worn on such missions.

Private

The relatives were given vacation after the basic training according to the official regulations: unmarried relatives should receive a "VKU" (extended short vacation) once every 6 weeks, married relatives every 4 weeks. This usually lasted from Friday noon to the following Tuesday morning 6:00 a.m. and must be started in uniform. The family member also received annual leave once a year. Only later (this was regularly approved for NCOs) was the SaZ and UaZ allowed to wear private civilian clothes in the exit. The civilian population associated the units of the guard regiment with the construction of the Berlin Wall. After harassment in Berlin restaurants and dance halls as well as attacks on members of the guard regiment in East Berlin, the exit was only allowed in civilian clothes since 1987.

Armament

AK-74

The guard regiment was with rifle weapons ( Makarow pistol , Walther PP , Kalaschnikow AK-47 (GDR production KMS-72), AK-74 , LMG, RPG-7 ) up to light armored personnel carriers (SPW 60 PB, SPW 70 , PSH ) fitted.

In command 3 (stationed at the Teupitz military training area - TÜT) there was also a battalion with special armaments. It consisted of a company (transformed into a rifle company in 1987) armed with the recoilless heavy anti-tank gun SPG-9 , a company equipped with heavy machine guns, the 31st MSK with 2 SMG platoons and a sniper platoon equipped with the SSG Dragunow , as well as the " Strela-2 " company armed with 70 mm anti-aircraft missiles . Until 1982 there was also an artillery department. This was armed with the 152-mm cannon howitzer. It used to have 85 mm PaK D-44s and grenade launchers in calibers 82 mm and 120 mm in its inventory.

The regulator company RSK was also equipped with the AKS-74 in order to be able to fold in the shoulder rest. At least in the 1970s, the reconnaissance battalion, the grenade launcher batteries and the I battalion were equipped with Kalashnikovs in the S variant. Special units such as the honor companies (28th and 29th MSK of the 10th MSB) were equipped with carbines and sabers in addition to the weapons mentioned above. The Kdo-A (reconnaissance) - housed in Kdo.1 - Adlershof, also had the small submachine gun Skorpion made in the Czech Republic .

The armament on guard corridors consisted of the AK-74 and 90 rounds of live ammunition. In the magazine pouch there was an empty magazine and three full magazines when placed in the gun cabinet. During the transfers, the empty magazine was inserted into the weapon, while a full magazine was used on guard walks. Tower guards carried a Makarow pistol (9 mm Makarow) or the AK-74 with a combat kit. In the units, the weapons were deposited in armories. There were individual solutions at the guards - from the armory to the gun cabinet. When the alert was raised, the weapons were always “at hand”.

The guards of the forest settlement were initially not allowed to shoot inside the object in an emergency. Ammunition was later used, which had a very high " man-stopping effect ". If an intruder got through the post route directly behind the wall, he had to be followed. To overwhelm, the use of firearms was initially prohibited. Instead, bayonets (side rifles) or rifle butts should be used.

The ammunition was checked for completeness at regular intervals. For this purpose, the viewing windows on the magazines were used, in some cases so-called measuring units, metal rods that were then inserted into the magazine behind the ammunition - this was checked and documented by the superior. As practice ammunition (blank cartridges) cartridges were initially used, which were only filled with powder and cranked together at the front end.

transport

Mainly trucks of the type W50 and the manufacturer Uralski Avtomobilny Sawod were available for personnel transports. In design, these corresponded to the vehicles of the NVA, but bore the official registration number of the People's Police with the letters VP arranged one above the other. Ikarus buses were used at events .

Additional equipment

Additional equipment for large events was batons (flexible), from 1989 baton (fixed), shields and helmets as well as guide chains .

See also

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. Guard Regiment FE Dzierzynski The stumbling block November 21, 2012 Andreas Kopietz in the Berliner Zeitung
  2. Eberhard Rebohle: Rote Spiegel - Guard soldiers in the GDR , edition ost, 2009