Seegrenzschutz
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Bundesgrenzschutz (BGS; en,
Federal Federal or foederal (archaic) may refer to: Politics General *Federal monarchy, a federation of monarchies *Federation, or ''Federal state'' (federal system), a type of government characterized by both a central (federal) government and states or ...
Border Guard) is the former name of the German ''Bundespolizei'' (Federal Police). Established on 16 March 1951 as a subordinate agency of the
Federal Ministry of the Interior An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministry ...
, the BGS originally was primarily focused on protecting the West German borders. During their early days, BGS units had military structures, training and equipment. The law enforcement officers legally had military combatant status until 1994. A major part of the early BGS personnel joined the newly founded German Armed Forces (
Bundeswehr The ''Bundeswehr'' (, meaning literally: ''Federal Defence'') is the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. The ''Bundeswehr'' is divided into a military part (armed forces or ''Streitkräfte'') and a civil part, the military part con ...
) in 1956 and thus significantly contributed to West Germany's rearmament. The BGS was renamed to ''Bundespolizei'' on 1 July 2005. The change of name did not have any effect on the legal status or competencies of the agency, but rather reflects its transition to a multi-faceted police agency with control over border, railway and air security.


History

The newly established Federal Republic of Germany wanted to set up its own federal border guard and police. The founding act of the Federal Border Guard (''Bundesgrenzschutz'', BGS) was adopted on 14 November 1950 by the federal cabinet and on 15 February 1951 by the
Bundestag The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet") is the German federal parliament. It is the only federal representative body that is directly elected by the German people. It is comparable to the United States House of Representatives or the House of Common ...
. The BGS was established on 16 March 1951. The Cold War had begun, but travel between East and West Germany was not yet restricted by the Berlin Wall (1961). German nationals could move freely from the
DDR DDR or ddr may refer to: *ddr, ISO 639-3 code for the Dhudhuroa language *DDr., title for a double doctorate in Germany *DDR, station code for Dadar railway station, Mumbai, India *' (German Democratic Republic), official name of the former East ...
to the BRD in Berlin, but people attempting to cross illegally elsewhere were likely to be either commercial smugglers or espionage agents carrying contraband (e.g., radio transmitters.). Occupation authorities judged this could be better policed by a permanent force of Germans who intimately knew the border woods and mountains (rather than British or US troops who rotated out of Germany after a year or two) and at German rather than Allied expense. The BGS was organized along paramilitary lines in battalions, companies, and platoons, and was armed as light infantry. It remained a police force controlled by the
Ministry of Interior An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministry ...
rather than by the
Ministry of Defense {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in state ...
. A maritime border guard unit (''Seegrenzschutz'') was formed as part of the BGS on 1 July 1951. It consisted of approximately 550 members and was equipped with fourteen large patrol craft and several helicopters. On 3 October 1953 the Bundespasskontrolldienst (passport control service), which had been established on 19 September 1951, was transferred to the BGS and was now deployed on the entire German border. The BGS was initially a paramilitary force of 10,000 which was responsible for policing a zone deep along the border. It eventually became the basis for the present national semi-militarised police force. On 19 June 1953 its authorized strength was expanded to 20,000 men, a mixture of conscripts and volunteers equipped with armoured cars, anti-tank guns, helicopters, trucks and jeeps. By 1956, it had a strength of 16,414 men. Upon the formation of the
Bundeswehr The ''Bundeswehr'' (, meaning literally: ''Federal Defence'') is the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. The ''Bundeswehr'' is divided into a military part (armed forces or ''Streitkräfte'') and a civil part, the military part con ...
in 1955, over 10,000 members of the BGS voluntarily joined the new German military in 1956. The Seegrenzschutz was completely absorbed into the
German Navy The German Navy (, ) is the navy of Germany and part of the unified ''Bundeswehr'' (Federal Defense), the German Armed Forces. The German Navy was originally known as the ''Bundesmarine'' (Federal Navy) from 1956 to 1995, when ''Deutsche Mari ...
that year. A new maritime border guard was set up in the fall of 1964 as the ''Bundesgrenzschutz See'' (BGS See). Although it was not intended to be able to repel a full-scale invasion, the BGS was tasked with dealing with small-scale threats to the security of West Germany's borders, including the international borders as well as the inner German border. It had limited police powers within its zone of operations to enable it to deal with threats to the peace of the border. The BGS had a reputation for assertiveness which made it especially unpopular with East Germans, who routinely criticized it as a reincarnation of the ''
Schutzstaffel The ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS; also stylized as ''ᛋᛋ'' with Armanen runes; ; "Protection Squadron") was a major paramilitary organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany, and later throughout German-occupied Europe duri ...
'' from the days of
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
. It also sustained a long-running feud with the ''
Bundeszollverwaltung The Bundeszollverwaltung (Federal Customs Service) is the customs service of the Federal Republic of Germany. It is also the executive and fiscal administrative unit of the federal government and part of the Federal Ministry of Finance. It wa ...
'' over which agency should have the lead responsibility for the inner German border., pp. 96–97 The passing of the
German Emergency Acts The German Emergency Acts (') were passed on 30 May 1968 at the time of the ''Grand coalition, First Grand Coalition'' between the Social Democratic Party of Germany and the Christian Democratic Union of Germany. It was the 17th constitutional amen ...
on 30 May 1968 relieved the BGS of its quasi-military tasks, because the Bundeswehr could now operate inside the Federal Republic in the case of an emergency. A military rank structure similar to that of the Bundeswehr was replaced in the mid-1970s by civil service-type personnel grades. The service uniform was green, but field units wore camouflage fatigues and, at times, steel helmets and military training was still carried out. In 1972 the BGS became responsible for the security of the
Federal Constitutional Court The Federal Constitutional Court (german: link=no, Bundesverfassungsgericht ; abbreviated: ) is the supreme constitutional court for the Federal Republic of Germany, established by the constitution or Basic Law () of Germany. Since its in ...
, the Bundespräsident (Federal President), the Bundeskanzler (Federal Chancellor), the Foreign Office and the Federal Ministry of the Interior. Although the
Compulsory Border Guard Service The Compulsory Border Guard Service (German: ''Grenzschutzdienstpflicht'') was enacted by the German parliament in the Federal Border Protection Act of 18 August 1972, based on Article 12a of the German Constitution. The remaining provisions of t ...
law is still in force, in 1974 the BGS became an all volunteer force and in 1987 started recruiting women. Among other things, it was equipped with armored cars, machine guns, automatic rifles, tear gas, hand grenades, rifle grenades, and antitank weapons. All personnel on border and security duty wore sidearms. Five units had light aircraft and helicopters to facilitate rapid access to remote border areas and for patrol and rescue missions. Some units were effectively
Mountain troops Mountain warfare (also known as alpine warfare) is warfare in mountains or similarly rough terrain. Mountain ranges are of strategic importance since they often act as a natural border, and may also be the origin of a water source (for example, t ...
because of their specialised training, equipment, and operational area (e.g., Bavarian Alps). In addition to controlling Germany's border, the BGS
Alert police The ''Bereitschaftspolizei'' (literally 'Readiness Police'/On-Call Police (Reserve); effectively riot police) are the support and rapid reaction units of Germany's police forces. They are composed of detachments from the Federal Police and th ...
served as a federal reserve force to deal with major disturbances and other emergencies beyond the scope of Land police. The BGS guarded airports and foreign embassies, and several highly trained detachments are available for special crisis situations requiring demolition equipment, helicopters, or combat vehicles. Up to 1972 the BGS was organized in eight units known as Grenzschutzgruppen (Border Guard Units) GSG-1 to GSG-8. After shortcomings in police procedures and training were revealed by the terrorist attack on Israeli athletes at the
1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972), was an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. ...
, a BGS task force known as Grenzschutzgruppe 9 (
GSG-9 , formerly (), is the police tactical unit of the German Federal Police ''( Bundespolizei)''. The state police ('' Landespolizei'') maintain their own tactical units known as the '' Spezialeinsatzkommando'' (SEK). The identities of GSG 9 memb ...
) was formed to deal with terrorist incidents, especially hostage situations. The GSG-9 won world attention when it rescued eighty-six passengers on a
Lufthansa Flight 181 Lufthansa Flight 181 was a Boeing 737-230C jetliner (reg. D-ABCE) named the ''Landshut'' that was hijacked on the afternoon of 13 October 1977 by four members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, who called themselves Commando ...
airliner which was hijacked to
Mogadishu Mogadishu (, also ; so, Muqdisho or ; ar, مقديشو ; it, Mogadiscio ), locally known as Xamar or Hamar, is the capital and most populous city of Somalia. The city has served as an important port connecting traders across the Indian Oc ...
,
Somalia Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...
, in 1977. June 1990 saw the elimination of border patrols and control of persons at the Inner-German border. Upon German reunification on 3 October 1990, the East German ''
Transportpolizei The ''Transportpolizei'' (German for "Transport Police") was the transit police of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany), whose officers were commonly nicknamed TraPos. It was part of the '' Volkspolizei'' and dealt with all modes of tra ...
'' duties, and responsibility for air security in the new federal states, were taken over by the BGS. The German Railway Police (''
Bahnpolizei ''Bahnpolizei'' is the term in Germany, Austria and the German-speaking parts of Switzerland for the Railway police. Germany ''Bahnpolizei'' was the name of the former Railway police of West Germany and fell under the jurisdiction of the ''Deutsche ...
''), formerly an independent force, was restructured under the BGS on 1 April 1992 in preparation for the railway's privatization. The (formerly federally run) railway system remains a federal competency and Länder police forces have no authority over the railways. The strength of the BGS was 24,000 in early 1995.


Notable personnel

*
Anton Grasser __NOTOC__ Anton Grasser (3 November 1891 – 3 November 1976) was a German general during World War II who commanded several corps. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves. Grasser joined the Bundesgrenzschutz ...
* Kurt Andersen (general) *
Ulrich Wegener Ulrich Klaus "Ricky" Wegener (22 August 1929 – 28 December 2017) was a German police officer and founding member of the counter-terrorist force GSG 9. Early life Wegener was born in Jüterbog, Brandenburg. He was conscripted into the Luftwaffe ...
*
Michael Newrzella Michael Newrzella (September 15, 1967 – June 27, 1993) was a German police officer and member of GSG 9, the counter-terrorism and special operations unit of the German Federal Police, who was killed by the Red Army Faction. Newrzella partici ...


Gallery

File:Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-F075997-0011, Bonn, BMI, Uniformen Bundesgrenzschutz.jpg, BGS uniforms c. 1987 File:Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-F010413-0001, Lübeck, Jubiläum BGS, Parade.jpg, Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-F010413-0001, Lübeck, Jubiläum BGS, Parade (visible vehicles are
Mowag MR 8 The MOWAG MR8-01 (Wotan) is an armored personnel carrier. History Named as special car (SW1 and SW2) was the WOTAN from 1963 onward introduced by the Bundesgrenzschutz (West German border guard, later Bundespolizei). They were built by Bussing ...
s) File:Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-F010964-0008, Lübeck, Jubiläum BGS, BMI Schröder.jpg, Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-F010964-0008, Lübeck, Jubiläum BGS, BMI Schröder (vehicle in foreground is a DKW-Munga) File:2006-08 Frankfurt (Oder) 12.jpg, Water cannon ercedes-Benz NG 2628 WaWe 90002006-08 Frankfurt (Oder) 12 File:Hanomag AL-28 BGS Funkkraftwagen L.png,
Hanomag Hanomag (Hannoversche Maschinenbau AG, ) was a German producer of steam locomotives, tractors, trucks and military vehicles in Hanover. Hanomag first achieved international fame by delivering numerous steam locomotives to Finland, Romania and ...
AL-28 BGS Funkkraftwagen (''Radio Car'') L File:BGS-Hubschrauber Alouette II.jpg, alt=Green-painted helicopter with "Bundesgrenzschutz" on the side flies parallel to a border fence with a gate in it, behind which are two East German soldiers and a canvas-sided truck., A ''Bundesgrenzschutz''
Alouette II Alouette or alouettes may refer to: Music and literature * "Alouette" (song), a French-language children's song * Alouette, a character in ''The King of Braves GaoGaiGar'' Aerospace * SNCASE Alouette, a utility helicopter developed in France i ...
helicopter patrols the West German side of the inner German border, 1985 File:Us_army_bundesgrenzschutz.jpg, Members of the 11th Armored Cavalry stop to talk with West German border police while patrolling the border between East and West Germany in M151 light vehicles File:Inner german border herrnburg.jpg, alt=View of a road terminating in a red and white horizontal barrier, with trees on either side. Four people, two in uniform, are standing on the near side of the barrier. On the far side is another uniformed man standing in a grassy field. In the far background is a high metal fence and a tall watchtower with an octagonal cabin at its top., West German border personnel, civilians and an East German border guard on opposite sides of the border line at Herrnburg near Lübeck


See also

*
Allied-occupied Germany Germany was already de facto occupied by the Allies from the real fall of Nazi Germany in World War II on 8 May 1945 to the establishment of the East Germany on 7 October 1949. The Allies (United States, United Kingdom, Soviet Union, and Franc ...
*
Bavarian Border Police The Bavarian Border Police (german: Bayerische Grenzpolizei or ''GrePo'') is a police division within the Bavarian State Police (''Polizei Bayern''). It is the third arm of the police force alongside the state police and the riot police (''Berei ...
*
B-Gendarmerie The B-Gendarmerie was the predecessor of the Federal Armed Forces in Allied-occupied Austria after World War II. Established in 1949, it was equivalent to the Federal Border Guards (''Bundesgrenzschutz'', or ''BGS'') in West Germany and the B ...
*
Border guards of the inner German border The border guards of the inner German border comprised tens of thousands of military, paramilitary and civilian personnel from both East and West Germany, as well as from the United Kingdom, the United States and initially the Soviet Union. East ...
*
British Frontier Service The British Frontier Service was a British government organisation that was responsible for border monitoring duties in West Germany between 1946 and 1991. Its personnel served on Germany's international borders with Denmark, the Netherlands and B ...
*
Bundeszollverwaltung The Bundeszollverwaltung (Federal Customs Service) is the customs service of the Federal Republic of Germany. It is also the executive and fiscal administrative unit of the federal government and part of the Federal Ministry of Finance. It wa ...
(Federal Customs Service) *
Crossing the inner German border Crossing the inner German border remained possible throughout the Cold War; it was never entirely sealed in the fashion of the Korean Demilitarized Zone, border between the two Koreas, though there were severe restrictions on the movement of East G ...
*
Development of the inner German border The development of the inner German border took place in a number of stages between 1945 and the mid-1980s. After its establishment in 1945 as the dividing line between the Western and Soviet occupation zones of Germany, in 1949 the inner German bo ...
*
Escape attempts and victims of the inner German border There were numerous escape attempts and victims of the inner German border during its 45 years of existence from 1945 to 1990. Refugee flows and escape attempts Between 1945 and 1988, around 4 million East Germans migrated to the West. 3.454 milli ...
* Fall of the inner German border *
Fortifications of the inner German border The inner German border was a complex system of interlocking Fortification, fortifications and security zones long and several kilometres deep, running from the Baltic Sea to Czechoslovakia. The border barrier, outer fences and walls were the mo ...
*
Grepo Grepo is the short form of the German word for border police (german: Grenzpolizei). It is usually found in English referring to the '' Grenztruppen der DDR'' (Border Troops of the GDR) who guarded the inner German border and the Berlin Wall, but ...
*
Helmstedt–Marienborn border crossing The Helmstedt–Marienborn border crossing (german: Grenzübergang Helmstedt-Marienborn), named ''Grenzübergangsstelle Marienborn'' (GÜSt) (''border crossing Marienborn'') by the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was the largest and most import ...
(''Checkpoint Alpha'') * United States Zone Constabulary *
Volkspolizei-Bereitschaft The ''Volkspolizei-Bereitschaften'' (VPB, German for "People's Police Alert Units") were paramilitary police units of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) from 1955 to 1990. The VPB were barracked units of the ''Volkspolizei'' for ...
(East German Riot Police) * East German border guards


References


External links


BPOL History siteInformation brochure about the ''Bundespolizei'' (in German and English) last updated August 2005
; German language pages on the BGS
(in German) - You can see the old Bundesgrenzschutz in historic pictures and films and you can listen songs of the Bundesgrenzschutz


* http://www.beim-alten-bgs.de * http://www.bgs-erinnerung.de * http://www.grenzstreife.de

{{Authority control Defunct law enforcement agencies of Germany Border guards Paramilitary organisations based in Germany German Mountain Troops Borders of East Germany Inner German border 1951 establishments in West Germany