Transportpolizei
The Transport Police ( Vans ) was a paramilitary organization and part of the armed organs of the GDR in the German Democratic Republic ( DDR) for the safety and supervision of transport on the railway network of the Deutsche Reichsbahn responsible.
Tasks
The transport police monitored and controlled all major railway stations near the border with the Federal Republic of Germany, travelers in the domestic trains. Another task was to accompany the transit trains that ran between the Federal Republic and West Berlin. Before the construction of the Wall in Berlin, the controls of the S- Bahn service were also carried out in the western part of the city from the transport police - the entire rail network in Greater Berlin belonged to the Deutsche Reichsbahn, which at that time also ran the S-Bahn.
Even at football matches, transport police was present, to avoid interference.
Organization History
The existing within the Deutsche Reichsbahn railway police had been dissolved at the end of World War II in Germany by the occupying powers. Looting and train robberies in postwar Germany quickly led to a need for law enforcement in the field of road transport, in particular rail. The Soviet Military Administration in Germany was based on this, first the unresolved path protection, which was reinforced with another railroad. However, the members of this service had no police force. The railway protection offices were located in the eight Reichsbahn divisions of the Soviet occupation zone, supreme authority was thus the central government for transport. This structure was confirmed by decree of the Director General of the Reichsbahn on 25 October 1945. In total German level decided on 10 May 1946, the Allied Control Council formally that to secure military supplies and the supply of the population in all occupation zones a proper railway police organization should be rebuilt.
By Order No. 212 of the Soviet Military Administration of 30 July 1946 after a model of the Soviet militia all police services have been subordinated in the Soviet occupation zone of the newly created German Administration of the Interior. The former Railway Security Main Office and the Main Office with four water protection water protection agencies were merged into the Department of Rail and water police. The train was to protect ordinary railway police, the services have been adapted in structure to those of the local police. The eight offices were subordinate to the level of the railroad offices and inspections continue guards. The Railway Police was divided into railway Criminal with 345 and railway police officials with 5125.
In 1949 a reorganization of the police within the German Administration of the Interior, who shortly thereafter became the Ministry of the Interior ( mDI ) should be with the founding of the German Democratic Republic. In a newly constructed headquarters German People's Police railway and water police were merged to form the Department of Transport police departments with the police, criminal police and water protection. The existing railway police offices were people police offices transportation. From January 1950 non- uniformed Zugbegleitkommandos were used.
1952, the Water Police was separated from the transport police and now the 39 Reichsbahn offices dedicated transport police offices were created. From January 1953 to January 1957, the Department of the Ministry or State Secretariat for State Security was under the transport police under Otto Auerswald, where she briefly to the newly created headquarters inside belonged Safety 1956/57. Then she came back to the Interior Ministry and remained until 1990, a service branch of the People's Police. In 1954 the transport police had been reorganized. Instead of the transport police offices eight sections were initially 14, 1955 again been in accordance with the Reichsbahn divisions created. The now independent of the structured Reichsbahn structure in companies, trains and groups troupe that was increasingly militarily trained and organized, consisted of 8900 police officers. The actual railway police service was provided only to major stations yet, the focus of the tasks shifted to the military-strategic property protection. Three quarters of the staff worked at, 6.5 % in the Zugbegleitkommandos, 5.3% in the Criminal Investigation and 12.6 % in passenger stations and in the administration. In order to reduce this excess weight again, in 1959 the structure of the transport police offices and reviere was reintroduced.
With the introduction of conscription in the GDR in 1962, the service was in the transport police law as an alternative to military service, so that a three-year voluntary service could be made in eight newly created companies use the transport police. In addition, as reserves were the hunting grounds of Reichsbahn officials recruited volunteers of the transport police in tensile strength associated with the object and protection for so-called objects of category II Combat Groups of the Working Class in company strength. Thus the fulfillment of the tasks of the transport police to secure the march through and replenishment of the armed forces of the Warsaw Pact should be ensured in the state of defense while reducing the peacetime strength of 1967 included the Transport Police about 6900 men.
In 1970, the sections were dissolved and now assigned to the districts and the chiefs of the district authorities of the German People's Police imputed Transport Police offices created. The transport police held several schools, the Central School was located in Nordhausen.
On March 1, 1990, the personnel strength of 5,600 police officers and 800 conscripts was in the use of companies, in 1989, for comparison, the personnel strength of the railway police of the German Federal Railroad 2700. With the accession of the GDR to the Federal Republic was the transport police on September 30, 1990 with a thickness of 2008 dissolved man, about 1,700 men were transferred to the " railway police in the Federal " according to the provisions of the Unification Treaty. On 1 April 1992, took the Federal, the later federal police throughout Germany the tasks of the railway police.