Central school for combat groups

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Central School for Combat Groups
"Ernst Thälmann"
activity April 15, 1957 - June 30, 1990
Sponsorship Ministry of the Interior
place Schmerwitz
country Germany Democratic Republic 1949GDR GDR
Head of the ZSfK VP Director Horst Grade
Employee 97 (1990)
Main building of the ZSfK - Schmerwitz Castle

The Central School for Combat Groups (ZSfK) in Schmerwitz served the training of commanders of the combat groups of the working class of the GDR . By order of the Minister of the Interior Karl Maron of January 10, 1957, the facility was to be put into operation on April 15, 1957.

history

The Schmerwitz manor house was initially owned by the von Drabich-Wächter family, but was confiscated by the Red Army during World War II . On September 1, 1945, the Soviet Union gave it to the KPD for the establishment of a party school. It was continued from May 2, 1946 as the Brandenburg State Party School of the SED . In January 1946 the handover including the Vorwerk Arensnest and Gut Schmerwitz was formalized. On July 5, 1949, the property was declared public property. The school later became the "Special School of the Central Committee of the SED". After that, the facility was called the Central School of the German People's Police (ZSDVP).

Graduate badge of the ZSfK Schmerwitz
Certificate of the ZSfK Schmerwitz

After the formation of the combat groups in 1953, their fighters and commanders were trained by instructors of the VP on site in the districts. These instructors received their training and further education in the Central School of the German People's Police (ZSDVP) in Schmerwitz.

With the directive of the Central Committee of the SED of February 28, 1955, the training of combat group members was determined within the framework of national defense. That made a previous training commander cadres necessary. The order of January 1957 corresponded to this. The first course was to begin on April 15, 1957. The choice fell on the building of the former special school of the Central Committee of the SED in Schmerwitz near Wiesenburg in the Potsdam district . The first course was actually started late on May 16, 1957. The school's staff consisted of 53  VP members and 37 civilian employees. The school principal became VP commander Ziegler (rank of lieutenant colonel of VP). Until then, the KG units and their staff were trained by the VP instructors.

In January 1959, proposals for renaming the school, establishing the school rules and other organizational issues were submitted to the Central Committee. By order of the Minister of the Interior on October 15, 1959, the ZSDVP was renamed the Central School for Combat Groups (ZSfK) in Schmerwitz.

The hundreds of people in the rural areas were hardly able to be properly trained because of the wide spatial distribution. Due to the directive of November 22, 1960, the Hundreds were dissolved and several independent trains were formed from them. As a result, a qualification in Schmerwitz was necessary for the group of commanders and deputies of the trains.

A large-scale exercise in the context of national defense with the participation of the combat groups revealed their organizational and military deficits. Thereupon the qualification of the commanders, but also the ZSfK teachers at the ZSfK was determined with a directive of January 1961. Furthermore, the instructors for the KG were in the VP district offices, and the later VP combat group officers were trained there in Schmerwitz. The school's establishment plan rose to 225 school employees by 1965, and it received a new statute.

In the Central School for Combat Groups , VP in Schmerwitz only trained the commanders of the Hundreds of Combat Groups until 1962 , and from 1962 also the battalion commanders .

The introduction of the new division into combat and security forces in 1966 made new training content necessary. For the tenth anniversary on May 12, 1967, the ZSfK received an honorary banner of the Central Committee of the SED and at the same time the honorary name of the Central School for Combat Groups " Ernst Thälmann " . In the spring of 1968, the structure of the combat groups was transformed into security and combat units within the framework of territorial national defense. In this context, the school's training tasks were also reformulated. At the same time there was a change in leadership at the ZSfK. In September 1969, by order of the MdI, Lieutenant Colonel of VP Ziel was dismissed and Major from VP Raschinsky, who had just graduated from the Friedrich Engels military academy , was appointed as the new headmaster.

The directive of September 1971 brought the last structural change of the combat groups; this structural reform was then implemented from 1972 to 1974. These changes affected the structure of the units, the introduction of membership reserves and the possibility of accepting women into the units, but also armament and equipment were changed. All of this made further changes to the training content at the ZSfK necessary.

Since 1984 the ZSfK has also taken on the training of the cadres of the people's militias in friendly countries. Headmaster Raschinsky was promoted to colonel, and one of his deputies was made Lieutenant Colonel Grade, who succeeded him in 1988 in the leadership position.

Duration of training

The training time for commanders of the combat groups in the 1970s was about 350 teaching hours. The focus was on tactics, special training, troop and combat training, but also military policy and party work ( Marxism-Leninism ).

The basic course initially lasted two and then three months, the advanced training courses four weeks. This applied not only to the battle group commanders and their deputies, but also to the battle group officers of the VP district offices.

resolution

After the decision of the Council of Ministers of the GDR on the dissolution of the combat groups on December 14, 1989, the school stopped training. By order of the Minister of Internal Affairs of February 1990, the final dissolution of the ZSfK was ordered and it was liquidated by June 30, 1990.

The property was to be used as a central school for fire protection (fire brigades), but this was not realized. The Schmerwitz senior citizens' residence has been located in the complex since 2005 .

principal

  • 1957–1969: Lieutenant Colonel VP Erhard Ziegler
  • 1969–1988: Colonel VP Christian Raschinsky
  • February 1, 1988 – June 1990: VP Colonel (until May 1990), then VP Director Horst Grade

literature

  • Torsten Diedrich, Hans Gotthard Ehlert, Rüdiger Wenzke: In the service of the party: manual of the armed organs of the GDR . Ch. Links Verlag , Berlin 1998, ISBN 3-86153-160-7 .

Web links

  • Kerstin Schimmeck (edit.): Finding aid for the holdings DO 8: Central School for Combat Groups "Ernst Thälmann", Schmerwitz in the Federal Archives (GDR Department, Ministry of the Interior (MdI): Subordinate authorities) online , introduction (no page number).

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Federal Archives, Finding aid for the holdings DO 8, Introduction, to footnote (7).
  2. ↑ Heiner Timmermann: Dictatorships in Europe in the 20th Century - the Case of the GDR , p. 520
  3. ^ Matthias Helle: Post-war years in the province. The Brandenburg district of Zauch-Belzig 1945–1952 . Lukas Verlag, Berlin 2011, ISBN 978-3-86732-111-2 , pages 106, 151, 263.
  4. ^ Diedrich, Ehlert, Wenzke: In the service of the party: Handbook of the armed organs of the GDR , p. 292.
  5. ^ Federal Archives, Finding aid for the holdings DO 8, Introduction, to footnote (3).
  6. ^ Federal Archives, Finding aid for the holdings DO 8, Introduction, to footnote (9).
  7. ^ Federal Archives, Finding aid for the holdings DO 8, Introduction, on footnotes (10) and (13).
  8. ^ Federal Archives, Finding aid for the holdings DO 8, Introduction, to footnote (14).
  9. ^ Diedrich, Ehlert, Wenzke: In the service of the party: Handbook of the armed organs of the GDR , p. 298.
  10. ^ Federal Archives, Finding aid for the holdings DO 8, Introduction, on footnotes (15) and (16).
  11. ^ Federal Archives, Finding aid for the holdings DO 8, introduction, to footnote (20).
  12. ^ Diedrich, Ehlert, Wenzke: In the service of the party: Handbook of the armed organs of the GDR , p. 62.
  13. ^ Diedrich, Ehlert, Wenzke: In the service of the party: Handbook of the armed organs of the GDR , p. 308.
  14. ^ Federal Archives, Finding aid for the holdings DO 8, Introduction, to footnote (22).
  15. ^ Federal Archives, Finding aid for the holdings DO 8, Introduction, to footnote (23).
  16. ^ Federal Archives, Finding aid for the holdings DO 8, introduction, to footnote (25).
  17. ^ Diedrich, Ehlert, Wenzke: In the service of the party: Handbook of the armed organs of the GDR , p. 311.
  18. ^ Federal Archives, Finding aid for the holdings DO 8, Introduction, footnote (33).
  19. ^ Federal Archives, Finding aid for the holdings DO 8, introduction, to footnote (28).
  20. ^ Federal Archives, Finding aid for the holdings DO 8, Introduction, on footnotes (37, 38 and 40).
  21. ^ Website of the Schmerwitz Castle Senior Citizens' Residence
  22. ↑ Federal Archives, Finding aid for holdings DO 8, introduction.

Coordinates: 52 ° 8 ′ 16.6 "  N , 12 ° 28 ′ 51.7"  E