The Kasernierte Volkspolizei () (KVP) was the precursor to the

National People's Army The National People's Army (, ; NVA ) were the armed forces of the East Germany, German Democratic Republic (DDR) from 1956 until 1990. The NVA was organized into four branches: the (Ground Forces), the (Navy), the (Air Force) and the (Bord ...

(NVA) in

East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

. Their original headquarters was in

Adlershof Adlershof (, literally "Eagle's Court") is a locality (') in the Boroughs of Berlin, borough (') Treptow-Köpenick of Berlin, Germany. Adlershof is home to the new City of Science, Technology and Media (WISTA), located on the southwestern edge of ...

locality in

East Berlin East Berlin (; ) was the partially recognised capital city, capital of East Germany (GDR) from 1949 to 1990. From 1945, it was the Allied occupation zones in Germany, Soviet occupation sector of Berlin. The American, British, and French se ...

, and from 1954 in Strausberg in modern-day

Brandenburg Brandenburg, officially the State of Brandenburg, is a States of Germany, state in northeastern Germany. Brandenburg borders Poland and the states of Berlin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony. It is the List of Ger ...

. They ceased to exist after 1956, having been transformed into the NVA, but are often confused with the later paramilitary police units, the

Volkspolizei-Bereitschaft The ''Volkspolizei-Bereitschaften'' (VPB, German for "People's Police Alert Units", sometimes known as "Barracked People’s Police" or "Alert Police") was the paramilitary police force of the Volkspolizei of the German Democratic Republi ...

. The KVP was tasked with internal security operations since at the time, the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany was still mandated to provide external defenses for East Germany.

History

In October 1948, the

Soviet Military Administration in Germany The Soviet Military Administration in Germany (; ''Sovyetskaya Voyennaya Administratsiya v Germanii'', SVAG; , SMAD) was the Soviet military government, headquartered in Berlin- Karlshorst, that directly ruled the Soviet occupation zone in German ...

formed the ''Alert Police'' (''Bereitschaftspolizei''), a force of armed units housed in barracks and trained in military fashion. The force consisted of forty units with 100–250 men each, the units being subordinated to provincial authorities. Many of the officers and men were recruited from among German

POW POW is "prisoner of war", a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict. POW or pow may also refer to: Music * P.O.W (Bullet for My Valentine song), "P.O.W" (Bull ...

s held in the Soviet Union. In November 1948, the German Interior Administration (''Deutschen Verwaltung des Innern'', DVdI) took responsibility over the force (and the border troops) and included them in section named ''Hauptabteilung Grenzpolizei und Bereitschaften'' (HA GP/B). By the end of 1948, the force grew to 10,000 men. The section was renamed to ''Verwaltung für Schulung'' (VfS) on 25 August 1949 to ''Hauptverwaltung für Ausbildung'' (HVA) on 15 October 1949 and to ''Kasernierte Volkspolizei'' (KVP) on 1 June 1952. In December 1952, KVP membership had grown to 90,250. The ruling

Socialist Unity Party of Germany The Socialist Unity Party of Germany (, ; SED, ) was the founding and ruling party of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) from the country's foundation in 1949 until its dissolution after the Peaceful Revolution in 1989. It was a Mar ...

and Soviet officers exercised strict ideological control over the force. In the same year, sea and air units were also included. On 1 March 1956, the KVP units were transformed into the newly established army of East Germany, the NVA, and transferred to the Ministry of National Defence. Soon afterwards, the Ministry of Internal Affairs again formed its own paramilitary forcethe ''Volkspolizei-Bereitschaften''. These were again armed as motorised infantry, with anti-tank weapons and so on, but were primarily employed on internal security and public order duties.

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, - , colspan=7 align=center style="background: #eeeeee;", ''Succeeded himself as

Minister of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divid ...

.''

References

{{Authority control Military of East Germany 1948 establishments in Germany National People's Army Military units and formations established in 1948

History

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See also

References