''Polizeiruf 110'' ("Police call 110") is a long-running

German-language German (, ) is a West Germanic language in the Indo-European language family, mainly spoken in Western and Central Europe. It is the majority and official (or co-official) language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein. It is a ...

detective A detective is an investigator, usually a member of a law enforcement agency. They often collect information to solve crimes by talking to witnesses and informants, collecting physical evidence, or searching records in databases. This leads the ...

television series A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming plat ...

. The name refers to the

emergency telephone number An emergency telephone number is a number that allows a caller to contact local emergency services for assistance. The emergency number differs from country to country; it is typically a three-digit number so that it can be easily remembered and ...

of the ''

Volkspolizei The (DVP, German for "German People's Police"), commonly known as the or VoPo, was the national uniformed police force of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) from 1945 to 1990. The Volkspolizei was a highly- centralized agency re ...

''. The first episode was broadcast 27 June 1971 in the

German Democratic Republic 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 ...

(GDR), and after the dissolution of

Deutscher Fernsehfunk Deutscher Fernsehfunk (DFF; German for "German Television Broadcasting") was the state television broadcaster in the German Democratic Republic (GDR or East Germany) from 1952 to 1991. DFF produced free-to-air terrestrial television programmin ...

the series was picked up by ARD. It was originally created as a counterpart to the

West German West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republic after its capital c ...

series ''

Tatort ("Crime Scene") is a German-language police procedural television series that has been running continuously since 1970 with 30 feature-length episodes per year, making it the longest-running German TV drama. Developed by the German public-se ...

'' and quickly became a public favorite. In contrast to ''Tatort,'' which primarily focuses on homicides, the cases handled in the GDR TV's ''Polizeiruf 110'' were more often crimes such as

domestic violence Domestic violence is violence that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes r ...

extortion Extortion is the practice of obtaining benefit (e.g., money or goods) through coercion. In most jurisdictions it is likely to constitute a criminal offence. Robbery is the simplest and most common form of extortion, although making unfounded ...

fraud In law, fraud is intent (law), intentional deception to deprive a victim of a legal right or to gain from a victim unlawfully or unfairly. Fraud can violate Civil law (common law), civil law (e.g., a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrato ...

theft Theft (, cognate to ) is the act of taking another person's property or services without that person's permission or consent with the intent to deprive the rightful owner of it. The word ''theft'' is also used as a synonym or informal shor ...

and

juvenile delinquency Juvenile delinquency, also known as juvenile offending, is the act of participating in unlawful behavior younger than the statutory age of majority. These acts would be considered crimes if the individuals committing them were older. The term ...

, as well as

alcoholism Alcoholism is the continued drinking of alcohol despite it causing problems. Some definitions require evidence of dependence and withdrawal. Problematic use of alcohol has been mentioned in the earliest historical records. The World He ...

child abuse Child abuse (also called child endangerment or child maltreatment) is physical abuse, physical, child sexual abuse, sexual, emotional and/or psychological abuse, psychological maltreatment or Child neglect, neglect of a child, especially by a p ...

and

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault involving sexual intercourse, or other forms of sexual penetration, carried out against a person without consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or against a person ...

. ''Polizeiruf 110'' followed a stricter

police procedural The police procedural, police show, or police crime drama is a subgenre of procedural drama and detective fiction that emphasises the investigative procedure of police officers, police detectives, or law enforcement agency, law enforcement agencies ...

format than ''Tatort,'' paying particular attention to the criminal's state of mind and the social context of the crime. Many episodes sought to promote particular social values. In 1990 the episode was produced as a crossover with the West German ''Tatort'' crime series, in which Horst Schimanski coworked with

Hauptmann () is an officer rank in the armies of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. It is usually translated as ''captain''. Background While in contemporary German means 'main', it also has, and originally had, the meaning of 'head', i.e. ' literall ...

Peter Fuchs and

Oberleutnant (English: First Lieutenant) is a senior lieutenant Officer (armed forces), officer rank in the German (language), German-speaking armed forces of Germany (Bundeswehr), the Austrian Armed Forces, and the Swiss Armed Forces. In Austria, ''Oberle ...

Thomas Grawe in a case of homicide and

smuggling Smuggling is the illegal transportation of objects, substances, information or people, such as out of a house or buildings, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations. More broadly, soc ...

committed by former members of the

Stasi The Ministry for State Security (, ; abbreviated MfS), commonly known as the (, an abbreviation of ), was the Intelligence agency, state security service and secret police of East Germany from 1950 to 1990. It was one of the most repressive pol ...

. After the end of the GDR, the series was taken over by the ARD as a franchise similar to the ''Tatort'' series. The local members of the ARD produce their own episodes, which are aired by the ARD. West German settings and characters came into the show. Parallel to the ''Tatort'' series, the ORF joined the ''Polizeiruf'' franchise with its own productions. Consequently, those episodes are renamed ''Polizeiruf 133'' because of the different emergency telephone number in Austria, while the West German emergency call uses the same number as the East German. The ARD's ''Polizeiruf'' deals mostly with murders and homicides, while the focus has been more on entertainment rather than any teaching or enlightening. More emphasis was put on the characters and personal lives of the detectives, and there has been relatively little difference overall between the newer ''Polizeiruf'' episodes and the contemporary ''Tatort'' episodes. However, ''Polizeiruf'' continues to feature more (post-reunification)

East German East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from its formation on 7 October 1949 until its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on 3 October 1990. Until 1989, it was generally vie ...

settings than in ''Tatort''. A 1974 episode based on the case of serial killer Erwin Hagedorn was banned by the

politburo A politburo () or political bureau is the highest organ of the central committee in communist parties. The term is also sometimes used to refer to similar organs in socialist and Islamist parties, such as the UK Labour Party's NEC or the Poli ...

, which feared an uncomfortable public debate about the

death penalty Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in s ...

. A script and silent tape of the episode, thought lost, were rediscovered in 2009, and the sound was re-dubbed for broadcast with new actors (the episode was aired 23 June 2011 by

Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk (; "Central German Broadcasting"), shortened to MDR (; stylized as mdr), is the public broadcaster for the federal states of Thuringia, Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt in Germany. Established in January 1991, its headquarters are in Leipzig, wi ...

DR. In 2014, the series was broadcast with English subtitles in the USA on MHz WorldView under the title ''Bukow and König'' (2010–2014 episodes). The series was also broadcast in Austria as ''Polizeiruf 133'', because 110 is not used as an emergency telephone number in Austria. On 2 November 2021,

Deutsche Post AG Deutsche Post AG (), trading as DHL Group, is a German multinational package delivery and supply chain management company headquartered in Bonn, Germany. It is one of the world's largest courier companies. The postal division, Deutsche Post, ...

released a commemorative

postage stamp A postage stamp is a small piece of paper issued by a post office, postal administration, or other authorized vendors to customers who pay postage (the cost involved in moving, insuring, or registering mail). Then the stamp is affixed to the f ...

to celebrate the 50th anniversary of ''Polizeiruf 110''.

Prominent cast members

* Peter Borgelt as Hauptmann, later Kriminalhauptkommissar Peter Fuchs (84 episodes, 1971–1991) * Jürgen Frohriep as Oberleutnant, later Kriminaloberkommissar Jürgen Hübner (68 episodes, 1972–1994) * Sigrid Göhler as Leutnant Vera Arndt (49 episodes, 1971–2001) * Wolfgang Winkler as Hauptkommissar Herbert Schneider (50 episodes, 1979–2013) * Andreas Schmidt-Schaller as Leutnant, Oberleutnant, later Kriminaloberkommissar Thomas Grawe (40 episodes, 1973–2004) * Jaecki Schwarz as Hauptkommissar Herbert Schmücke ''(together with Schneider)'' (38 episodes, 1987–2007) * Horst Krause Polizeihauptmeister Krause (35 episodes, 1987–2015) * Lutz Riemann as Oberleutnant, later Kriminaloberkommissar Lutz Zimmermann (25 episodes, 1983–1991) * Edgar Selge as Kriminalhauptkommissar Jürgen Tauber (21 episodes, 1998–2009) * Günter Naumann as Kriminalhauptkommissar Günter Beck (21 episodes, 1973–2001) *

Michaela May Michaela May (born ''Gertraud Elisabeth Berta Franziska Mittermayr''; 18 March 1952) is a German film actress, film and television actress. Life and career May, who was born and raised in Munich, took ballet lessons from the age of seven, and as ...

as Kriminalhauptkommissarin Jo Obermaier (17 episodes, 2001–2009) * Imogen Kogge as Hauptkommissarin Johanna Herz (12 episodes, 2002–2010) *

Henry Hübchen Henry Hübchen (born 20 February 1947 in Berlin) is a German actor who played the title character in the award-winning 2004 film ''Alles auf Zucker!, Go for Zucker''. That performance earned him a Deutscher Filmpreis, Lola, Germany's equivalent ...

as Tobias Törner (5 episodes, 2003–2005)Imdb.de
/ref>

External links

* * *List of episodes in the

German Wikipedia The German Wikipedia () is the German-language edition of Wikipedia, a free and publicly editable online encyclopedia. Founded on 16 March 2001, it is the second-oldest Wikipedia edition (after the English Wikipedia). It has articles, ma ...

References

{{Authority control ARD (broadcaster) Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg Ostdeutscher Rundfunk Brandenburg German drama television series 1980s German television series 1990s German television series 2000s German television series 2010s German television series 1971 German television series debuts German crime television series Detective television series 1970s German police procedural television series 1980s German police procedural television series 1990s German police procedural television series 2000s German police procedural television series 2010s German police procedural television series 2020s German police procedural television series Television in East Germany German-language television shows Grimme-Preis for fiction winners