EAST GERMAN RAILROAD INFORMATION

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00810A001400790006-4
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 5
• Document Creation Date: December 14, 2016
• Document Release Date: December 31, 2001
• Sequence Number: 6
• Publication Date: August 31, 1953
• Content Type: REPORT

COUNTRY
SUBJECT
PLACE
ACQUIRED
DATE OF
INFO.
eZefeeMile
71112 112C11112
CV 1711.2 011/72
SI- .11i
CP 112 COS
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CLASSIFICATION OECTZET,CONTROL U.S, OFFICIALS OULY
CENTRAL NT(Ef 2-iiTroj ?11 REPORT WI
INFORMATION REPORT CD NO.
East Germany
Easi Germnn Railroad information
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31 August 1953
SOURCE
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1. In early April 1953s an SED meeting was held for all employees of the Ministry of
Traffic and of the Directorate Ceeerals Railroads, Motor Teeffie eed Ikeda and
ehipping at the former German Air Ministry in Berlin. Herr Menzel (fnu)s who
delivered the repot of the deputy, announced that, effective 1 Mey 195es the
Directorate General, Railroads Berlin, would be made into a Railroad Ministry
headed by Roman Chwalek, formerly Minister of Labor. Chealee would be assisted by
four deputies, namoly:
Menzel, in charge of political affairs;
Kramer? in charge of traffic;
Staimers in charge of orgenizatioe and administration;
Lindemann, in charge of constructions and shape.
Menzel indicated that Deputy Director General Karl Betz would be released from his
assignment and given a chair at the Academy of Traffic in Dresden? Director General
Lehmann will be chargedwith special missions at the newly established Railroad
Ministryel
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2, in early April, source learned that Wunsch (fnu)? departmental cheer at the Directorate
General, Railroads) Berlins had been discharged an that Kresse (fnu)0 deputy chief
of the investment department, was alao discharged.
Source learned that the following reorganization of the East German traffic system
as approved by the East German Council of Ministers on 9 April 1953g
Raileoadjelelaeue
Ministers Raman Chwalek
1st deputy ministee (operations): Kramer
2d deputy minister (safety and organization): Stainer
:Id deputy minister (constructions, investments, railroad shops): Lindemann
4th deputy minestee(political affairs): Menzel.
.aateleeeeteteX1RI-Seleitier Traf4c end-At-EMIR&
State secretary: Wollweber.
State Seerekel:a&Ser-02 tor ..W.S--e-4...11e2.aeliee
State Secretary: WaechterTl
4,, In early Aprils source learned that the VP transport control headquarters attached to
the Berlin regional. railroad headquarters was not get fully staffed. Chief of the VP
truffle control headquarters was one Wachner (fnu)c, who was assiseed by Ernst Hansche,
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Ewald Wagner, and one Elfert (fnu), Four technical personnel were expected
to join the bureau, which was directly assigned to the Ministry of the Interior,
The four members of the VP traffic control headquartere wore KVP uniforms with
crimson collar patches. The chief had the rank of a captain, his assistants
were senior lieutenants.3
5, The VP traffic control headquarters attached to the Greifswald regional railroad
headquarters started functioning on 10 March, It was staffed by four V: efficers
and a female VP, the ranking officer being a senior lieutenant. Former Reichs-
bahninspektoren Seelk (fnu) and Rehdorf (fnu), in charge of traffic and
operations, were assigned to the VP office, An expert for railroad timetable
matters was still to be recruited,"
In early April, source learned that Wunsch (fnu), previously chief of the .in
Department for Investments at the Directorate General, Railroads, Berlin, had
been put in charge of the Nordwestring Berlin (Birkenwerder-Brieselang) project.
He was replaced by Graduate Engineer Kuhn (fm), previously at the Dresden
regional railroad headquarters.2
7. Source observed that both sides of the two bridges over the Oder River at
Kuestrin were guarded by two Soviet sentries each by day and night. No passengers
were allowed to loiter on the bridges, The abutmAts on both sides of the
bridges were secured by barbed wire obstacles which extended as far as into the
river. Trenches had been dug on both banks of the river between the bridges;
another system of trenches was observed on the west side of the river, behind
the road. Empty machine gun emplacements were seen there. An emplacement for
four AA guns had been constructed, others were under construction. The
construction work was done by Soviet soldiers from the Artillerie Kaserne,
On 15 December 1952,: the four transport police personnel in Nuestrin-Kietz
were increased to 22 to 26.4
9. The East German summer timeteble, which will go into effect on 17 May? indicates
that passennere riding elevated trains in Berlin will have to change trains at
the boundary between West and East Ber1in,5
0, Source learn_d from an employee of the Leipzig regional railroad headquarters
that the Soviets returned the electric locomotives and the overhead line
material dismantled by them in the Halle-Leipzig area in 1945. By mistake, the
equipment from the Hirschberg-Waldenburg railroad line was also returned6
tl? In early Morelli, source learned that East Germany received further shipments of
high-quarity steel needed for repair work on railroad cars and locomotives from
Western countries, mainly via Wismar and Rostock. In detail, the following
materials were delivered:
Steel tubes:
Seamless tubes 819,724 kg
Welded tubes 8e4663 kg
pire;1? 18422.1e_
Total 1,a3.087 kg
Sheets:
Fine sheets 328,919 kg
Medium sheets 107,848 kg
Boiler sheets 97,857 kg
Plates 341,370 kg
ll-Z tspe plates aradtiailIR-
Dotal 921,324 kg 7
12, Source learned from a confidential railroad teletype sent on 15 January 1953
' by the Directorate General, Railroads, Berlin, to the presidents of all
regional railroad headquarters that SSy flatcars of the 1952 series and RRYm
flatcars were no longer to be dispatched abroad except for Brest Litovsk8
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13. On 29 :larch, source learned that several trains of heavy-duty flatcare
eere disnatched to the U.S.S.R, from elaces in the Halle railroad
district, In all railroad districts RRym type flatcars had to be
withdrawn from traffic. After 25 Nhrch, SO to 90 RRym flatcars had to be
made available ready for immediate employment in each of the eight
railroad districts
14. In early April, source learned that the Magdeburg regional railroad
headquarters had been ordered by the Soviet traffic control headquarters
to have 400 boxcars converted into troop cars. The order was to be
carried out without delay by the Bw (railroad maintenance shop) in
Megdeburg? 9
15, On 27 March, source observed that there was no change in the status of the
13 locomotives of the locomotive column in Ducherow,le
16, In late March, source observed that the 33 locomotives of the locomotive
column at Ruednitz were still being kept cold.10
17, the following information from the protocol of the Berlin
regional railroad headquarters drawn up on 19 March 1953 of a joint
conference held from 13 thrcugh 15 March 1953 by representatives of the
Berlin, Cottbus and Dresden regional railroad headquarters on the one hand
ane of the Polish regional railroad headquarters in Posen and Breslau on
the other:
a, For the time being an increase of the permitted axle pressure for
locomotives to 17 tons is not feasible on the Hagenwerder-Hirschfelde
railroad line, Work on the reinforcement of the permanent way of the
line was started some days before( 11
h, Complaints on the issue of coal of a poor quality to German locomotives
handling Soviet transit trains through Poland, particularly at Luckow
and Sochaozewl will be checked by Polish authorities, which promised
to remedy this situation,12
The timetables for trains operating on the Wegliniec-Horka, Tuplice-
Porstt and Hirschfelde-Krzewina Zgorzelec -Hageneerder railroad lines
were checked and coordinated. It was agreed that eight pair of scheduled
trains and one pair of non-scheduled trains were to operate on the
Wegliniec-Horka line; seven pairs of schedulea trains and one pair of
pen-scheduled trains on the Tuplice-Forst line. The following arrangement
was made for the Hirschfelde-Krzewina Zgorzelec -Hagenwerder line:
Polish trains: 13 pairs, including:
2 eairs of scheduled passenger trains;
1 pair of freight trains with provisions for the transport of
passengers:
1 pair of local freight trains;
2 pairs of scheduled freight trains;
7 pairs of non-scheduled trains,
East German trains: 23 trains, including:
14 passenger trains;
4 local freight trains:
5 non-scheduled freight train03
Speed limits in force for the bridges over the NaStie River near
Rohnau and Rosenthal were cancelled,14
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1111111Cnsn Information on the reorganization of the Zest German
traffic syetem was transmitted previously . The
new railroad minister, Chwalek? previously Mister Labor, Before
,
1945, Chwalek worked as a mechanic in the Oppeln railroad district