STRENGTH OF POLICE FORCES IN THE SOVIET ZONE OF GERMANY

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP82-00457R002100070002-3
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 8
• Document Creation Date: November 9, 2016
• Document Release Date: December 9, 1998
• Sequence Number: 2
• Publication Date: November 29, 1948
• Content Type: REPORT

25X1X6
25X1 A2g
DATE DISTR.
NO. OF PAGES
29 .Iovet 'ter 194
NO. OF ENCLS.
(LISTED BELOW)
25X1 X6. SUPPLEMENT TO C/4 t"HRARr
REPORT NO.
Lt,ran, t+n ai; ie Police iiscussion
The exact strength of the . police in the Soviet Zone cannot: be stated
with absolute accuracy.. This is due primarily to the con7tantlyr
changing personnel picture which results from the continual pu.rg-
of pol:itiealiy unreliable elements on one hand and from the forced
recruiting program on the other. Even high officials of :he GAI
INFORMAT,
COU.FY Gerrmny (Russian Zone)
k82-0045FWj"0
SUBJECT Strength of Police Forces in the Soviet
2?R 1 A6a arr,aay
PLACE
ACQUIRED
DATE 01 117C
publicly but will be retroactive to 1 October 1,9 yaeoA
half of the 1948 fiscal year.
c, Appropriations for the police budget not only. prescribe the total
amount which may be expended for police purposes, but state pre-
^i_sely (just like the appropriations for the US Army) thee, number
of 'slots"? i.ee. positions prescribed by the Tnhles of Or,geni-
nation, which must be paid from the appropriated fu- On ti 'y
police, which has not yet been nnounced
~ increase for the Ss3viet Zo_!fa
48 4 the aecanct
Approved For Re ffwLi qAW2
GL+ASSIFICATION ..:s
('"ighest headquarters of the police in the Soviet r_ .one) hive no
means ref es tablish.ng the exact number of policemen. in sex-vice on
a given day.
Generally speaking the most reliable guide on the numerical
strength of the Soviet Zone German police is the police bs_cdget
submitted by the Chiefs of Police of the five Soviet Zone Lander
in conjunction with the GAT and the German Economic Commission
(DWK) and approved by the Directorate for Internal Affairs (UVD
and the 'Financial Directorate of the Sj> Ae There is ample documen-
tary evidence showing that the appropriations for the police boil-
get are cons idei ed final by the SMA and that the GAI must make no
expend. it~.res ;,n excess of the appropriated amount except with the
approval of the St)'A, (The possibility of secret 'police funds ,
appropriated for tu-ider? another heading is discounted completely
by reliable German and Soviet sources.,) During the fiscal year
additional appropriations were made for the Border Police
1048
,
1,J for the additional funds needed to cover the general salary.
CLASSIFICATION S*:RI:T
0 CHANG
WARMING NOTICE: THIS DISTMUTION LISTING iUST BE r~HCZAAI I
ci~gp 6EF991 FOLK REl As QF DDA
P~i0461F2 OaO~---
Approved For Release 1999/09/08 JCIA-RD
 Approved For Release 1999{: CIA_RDP82-00457R00210 70Q002-3
basis of the T/0 allocations in the police budget for the fiscal .r 1948
(1 April 194B to 31 March 1949)= the following 8 the authorized (but not
actual) strength of the police in the Soviet Zone.
Brandenburg
.:r L: xi LE'iLL)11Y?~`
7, 5CC
Saxony
179000
Saxony=Anhalt
13,000
Thuringia
9000
Total for the five Lander
57$00
Railway Police
59000
German Adm. of rn? interior
800
(Including clerical staff, Police Academy, and
Criminological Laboratory)
~~,;~} syr of T/O Positions appropriated for in budget for fiscal year
1948 -- 63,300, excluding Border and Paramilitary Police and the
J 'rlin mast Sector.
d. The organization and strength of the police in the Soviet Zone was
naturally affected by political developments. This resulted in an
Increase over the total appropriated T/0 strength. The first of
these major changes occurred in February 1948 when the German Admini:
tration of the Interior, acting upon orders of the UVD, SMA estab-
lished a specialized Border Police force consisting of 3,700 men,
drawn mostly from the Schutzpolizei (Uniformed Constabulary) of the
major cities in the Soviet Zone, This force was expanded in the last
week of March when the strength of the Border Police was established
at around 10,000 men. The Border Police was organized along military
lines and was better paid and fed than the ordinary German police
Nevertheless, the proximity of the border represented an attraction
which many of the border policemen apparently could not resist, As
a result, the force undergoes a constant attrition through. desertions
and its present effective strength is estimated by a very reliable
source as 6,700.
e, A second major development affecting the strength of the Soviet Zone
police wa.i L=ie virtual integration of the Berlin Last Sector
police, under former Police President Paul Markgraf, into the
;astern Zone police apparatus, The strength of the Berlin East
,!actor police is estimated as 8,641,
fa The third,, and perhaps most significant, major increase in the
strength of the Soviet Zone police resulted from the organization
of the so-called Polizeibereitschaftena referred to as "Alert=
Police", "Kesernierte Polizei", or paramilitary police. This
organization, recruited predominantly from among former German
prisoners of war in Russia and led to a large extent by professional
o'fi ers including former German generals, came into being during
the late summer of 1948. Since its initial appearance it has be-
come a subject of intense controversy, rumors, and exaggeration,
Its strength was spoken of in terms of hundreds of thousands, actual,
or planned. The facts, as usual, are not quite so spectacular.
While the organization of this paramilitary police force is most
significant (and, incidentally, definitely contrary to the Potsdam
Declaration) and may herald the organization of a "People,?s Army"
in the Eastern Zone of Germany, the present strength of the
organization is somewhat less than ZC1,060 men, although an ex-
pansion to 15,000 is planned in the very near future,
g,
Since the paramilitary police has become a subject
of such
Intense
on the
police
controversy, it may be well to review
basis of which the present strength of
force is estimated at less than 10,000:
the
the
Information
paramilitary
(1) A copy has been received of a letter from Vice-President
Seifert of the German Administration of the Interior to
Lt. Colo Golovlev of the Internal Affairs Directorate,
SPCA Berlin?Karlshorst. The letter (dated 4 September
1948) is a request on behalf of the German Administration
of the Interior to S!A, for the relaxation of
Approved For Release 1999/0RDP8'2 0041R002100070002-3
 Approved For Release 19JW
: CIA-RDP82-00457RO9X'IA9 002-3
SKRF
CENTRAL 11TE L
AL
Budget Regulations, and its subject is: "Temporary
Financing of the Paramilitary Police from the Budget for
the Fiscal Year 1948". The following is quoted from the
body of the letter:
"The German Administration of the Interior 's at this time
faced with the urgent task of organizing and developing
the Polizeibereitschaften (paramilitary or alert police).
In order to pay the newly employed personnel of the para-
military police we must utilize all unused appropriations
which were to be expended during the budget year 1948 for
the payment of police personnel. These unused appropria-
tions are available because the police is well under strength;
It has been. established that roughly 15,000 positions
prescribed by the Tables of Organization are presently
unoccupied, a ,s a result of the great difficulty we are
encountering in finding the appropriate number of personnel.
for the police service.
"As it stands, however, the budget regulations do not per-
mit the full utilization of the unexpended appropriations.
Under the regulations, payment of an individual must be
made only on basis of an available Tb0 position. Most of
the available T/O slots however: call for the grade of
Wachtmeister (patrolman) - thus a considerable proportion
of the now-to-be-employed Alert Police cannot be paid from
these T/O appropriations beta-ase of their higher rank,
including generals, who require pay in excess of the
appropriations."
Vice-President Seifert's letter then discusses ways and
means of arranging transfer of unexpended appropriated
police funds but states that nothing can be don-- without
the approval of the.Finance Directorate of the S!AO
(2) The above letter warrants the following conclusions:
(a) The police in the Soviet Zone was on 4 September 1948
15,000 men under the strength authorized by the Tables
of Organization for the Fiscal Year 1948.
(b) The number of paramilitary police foreseen on 4 Sep-
tember 1948 was certainly less t?-an 15,000, but the
funds required for their salary were in excess of the
appropriation for the 15,CCO unfilled positions; this
is due to the fact that a considerable number of Para-
military police.receive a higher rate of pay than the
patrolmen of the ordinary police.
(c) Budget regulations must be observed by the German
police: consequently Table of Organization strength,
as authorized by the budget, can safely be regarded
as the maximum strength.
(3) A reliable and well-placed source gave the following infor-
mation on the location of paramilitary police units (I3ereit
schaften)
Jecklenbure
Rostock 2
Schwerin 1
Ktihlungsborn 1
Approved For Release 1999/09/08 : CIA-RDP82-00457R002100070002-3
 Approved For Release 1999/09/08 : CIA-RDP82-00457R002100070002-3
25X1A2g
Saxony-Anhalt
Apollendorf, 2
Zerbst 2
Dommitzsch 1
nuedlinbuxg 1
Weissenfels 1
Brandenbur&
Potsdam-fiche 1
?
lCyritz 1
Wittenberge 1
Anna hlit to 1
Brandenburg A2
Berlin
kerlin?
Wilhelmsruh 1
Thuringia
jAordhausen 1
3bndershausen 1
lihlhausen 1
x. 1ningen 4
Gr tha 2
Ilmenau I
Saxon
P; 3uen 1
Zi:ckau 2
CY,i,mnitz 2
Pirna 1
Gr.)j'senhain 2
Arr ;ldorf 2
The above distribution of peram.',litarsr police strength was
confirmed independently for Brandenburg and the City of
Berlin by the deputy commander o* the Schutzpolizei in one
of the larger cities of-Brandenbit,rg, and by a field-grade
officer of the S? A For Land Saxot y. In view of these con-
firmations the strength distribution for the other three
Lander is to be regarded as proba'Oly. accurate.
(4) The basic paramilitary police unit (Bereitichaft) consists
of 25C men. Assti'aing that each un: t is filled to the re-
quired T?0 strPnf,th, the following are the figures on pare-
military !.olice Strength by Lander:
Mecklenburg
1,000
Saxony-Anhiilt
1,750
Brandenbur;
1,500
Berlin
250
'.ihuringis
2,500
Saxony
2:500
Total
9,500
(5) As stated before, present plans c ll for an expansion of
the paramilitary police to :15,000 men. It may b assumed
that the German Administration of the Interior w.i11` attempt
(;o reach that figure as soon as ppssib.te and that paramilitary
police units, in addition to the cues 'fisted above, will be
organized as the necessity arises. But a recent report from
a leading official at =Iilhelmsruh to the President of the
GAI, Dr, Kurt Fischer, Stated: "..o Recr,,iiting of the para.
rilitary police proceedz very slowly and it is believed to
be doubtful that the required number of mon, in addition to
other long unfilled police strength requiltments, could be
SECRET
Approved For Release 1999/09/08 : CIA-RDP82-00457R002100070002-3
 Approved For Release 1999/09/08 : CIA-RDP82-00457R002100070002-3
sqjWi
itN1f1A&L~ 25X1 A2g
CE NRAL 331TELJGENCE AIMM
obtained s?iort of conscription." To this one may add that
the large-scale recruitment of former prisoners of.war from
the USSR may be one answer, but it is unlikely that the SMk
will pe:.,:iit the paramilitary police to consist exclusively
of recrntly discharged prisoners of war.,
2,
Strength of,, =ie _Po ice
Statistical Analysis
Land Br8nO ,nburg
Actual Strength :
Administrative Police
1,500
Criminal Police
11020
Schutzpolizei
=19100
Reilwa;t Police
930
.Paramilitary Police
1x500
Total
13,050
C and 'i ck1enb`urg
Actual Strength :
Administrative Police
890
Criminal Police
950
Schutzpolizei
41000
Railway Police
00
Paramilitary Police
11000
Total
8, 540
Land Saxony
Actual Strength :
Mrea1:down on the thrr?e 159180
main branches of the' police
not available)
Railway Police
975
Paramilitary Police
2,5OC
Total
18, 655
Land Saxony?Anhalt
Actual Strength
Administrative Police
1998()
Criminal Police
89r;
Schutzpolizei
7,O8~
railway Police
850
Paramilitary Police
1,750
Total
1291560
Land Thuringia
Acttval Strength :
Administrative Police
11510
Criminal Police
19100
Schutzpolizei
6 i 50
Railway Police
t65
Paramilitary Police
2, .,i00
Total 121025
Border Police (strength by Under not available) 61.700
City of Berlin (Eastern Sector)
TIC Strength authorized by the Allied
Rh}noniatura (Actual Strength is probably
somewhat less but cannot be safely esti-
mated) :
Administrative Police
:
:
Criminal Police 1,027.
L
~~T EN~IA
919
9
Approved For Release 1999/09/08 : CIA-RDP82-00457R002100070002-3
 Approved For Release 1999/09/08 : CIA-RDP82-00457R002100070002-3
CSQThAL INTELZIGEt CE AGENCY
25X1A2g
Schutzpolizei 4,695
Auxiliary Police 1,300
Actual Strength: Railway Police 450
Paramilitary Police 250
Total 8,641
German Administration of the Interior 800
Total estimated strength of Soviet Zone police including
th.3 East Sector of Berlin, Border, Railway, and
Paramilitary Police:
Following is the breakdown of police strength by
functional branches:
Administrative Police
Brandenburg
Mecklenburg
Saxony (estimate)
Saxony-Anhalt
Thuringia
Berlin
1'890
2,000
18980
11510
80, 971
~.. 8 8 799
Criminal Police
Brandenburg
".ecklenburg
Saxony (estimate)'
Saxony-Anhalt
Thuringia
Berlin
Schutzpolizei
Brandenburg
Mecklenburg
Saxony (estimate)
Saxony-Anhalt
Thuringia
}3Arl in
Railway Police
Brandenburg
Mecklenburg
Saxony
Saxony-Anhalt
Thuringia
Berlin
8,100
4,900
11,395
7,085
6,050
4,695
42,225
800
975
85o
865
4 50
Border Police
Distribution by Lgnder not available
Paramilitary Police
Bra ndenburg
1,500
4,870
6,700
SECRET
Approved For Release 1999/09/08 : CIA-RDP82-00457R002100070002-3
 Approved For Release 1999/09/08 : CIA-RDP82-00457R002100070002-3
jpjL 25X1 A2g
CENTRAL IN'TELLIGEN03 AGWO!
'1ecI. cienburg
Thuringia
Saxony
Saxc,ny-Anhalt
merlin
l,coo
2,500
1,7 0
2 50
9,500
800
Gorman Administration of the Interior
Auxiliary Polict? (in Berlin only) 1,300
It should be emphasized, however, thai. these figurt-s on the strength
of the Soviet ,one German police must be consideret:l tentative to
the extent that they cannot take into ;onsideratiof the unbelievm
ably rapid tu'M-over of police personnel. As stated before, larger,
scale disrnisials and mass recruitment cat future police personnel
front factori(!s and prisoner-of-War camps' are daily occurrences and
wou:.d necesritate a daily revision of t'.e strength figures. ,
obviously, cannot be undertaken. It is probable, however, that
the.mass rocruitmont of personnel Just -e bout covers the mass dis-
micisals. thus,.whil+. there may be as much as 15% difference either
gray betwe,ln the strength figures given aiove and the actual strength
on a certain day, it is believed that thc- over-all figure given
above a margin accurate figure 3% Soviet Zone must: alwaysobecconsiderede
3ithougl. a margi
a possi(:ility.
Ar mm_lt of Police
a. Thp armament of municipal (including Land) police consists
primarily of semi-automatic pistols of various calibers and
rnauuA'acture. As an example, in 9 letter to thr President of
the th'rman Administration of the Interior, the Chief of the
raxo;ty-Anhalt police stated that his force was equipped with
pistols of 72 different manufactures and 4 different calibers.
b.` The; Border Police are equipped wi-~.h the K 98 German Army in-
ffntry cLirbine, semi-automatic pis-.o1s, and subm& shine guna.
T.ie l tter are partly old Russian ftartridgP?drum type weapons
;partly the all-metal MP 44 used by the German Arm- in the last
;;cages of the war.
c. The paramilitary police also has as 1..ts basic weel,on the K 98
carbine. There are also two NP 44 ~obmachine guns for every
ten-man squad and 10 110810 heavy macl'_nt' guns (waive cooled) for
every "Bereitschaft" unit, theT/O s,reriZth of which is 250
men. The introduction of the 80 mm .heavy mortar for these
units is planned but not yet accomplished.
,I. To date the German police (including paramilitary nxnits) have
neither artillery nor armored cars or tanks a. thou(;h the intro-
duction of such offensive weapons is frequent..1:r discussed
unofficially even among high-ranking officials of ;he German
Administration of the Interior. 'F.e >urri.ng rumo,s sal out German
armored units may be safely discos rated.
40 Armed Oraanizations in the Soviet Zoi\e in A d .c?n t; the Police
In addition to the "regular" police organizations; discussed above
the Ger;. an Administration of the in''o-erior in con,)unction with the
German Fconomic Commission (DV1,) is presently ena 'agFd in organizing
a uniform and centralized factory security systen.... ICI place of .
jENT1AL
Approved For Release 1999/09/08 : CIA-RDP82-00457R002100070002-3
 Approved For Release 1999/09/08 : CIA-RDP82-00457R002100070002-3
25X1A2g
5T Aix;
CENTRAL INTTsF CE
individual security arrangements made by each factory, sith
locally hired night watchmen, the GAI plans to introduce a uni-?
form "Fabrikschutz" (factory protection) throughout the Soviet
:Lone. P'xisting factory guard units and those night watchmen who
are physically fit will be merged with the new organization, which
will be equipped with weapons and uniforms. Eventually all reliable
members of the SFD are expected to join a "Fabrikschutz" (factory
protection) organization, In this connection a leading official
of the German Administrai:ion of the Interior stated that while the
above measures are in a preliminary stage the "Fabrikschutz" when
fully organized may be considered as auxiliary police and might
logically lead to the organization of an armed workers' militia,
Present (very tentative)plans call for a strength of 65,CCO men.
Planned Increase in the Strength of German Police in the-Soviet
Zone
The German Administra+:ion of the Interior is making plans to in-
crease the strength of the Soviet Zone police to nearly double
its present size, Ir view of the shortage of available manpower
in the Soviet Zone afd the obvious reluctance of the popuiatiof to
accept the police as the "People's Police" which Communist propa-
ganda claims it to it appears to be extremely dubious that the
ambitious plans of he GAI could be fulfilled in the foreseeable
future, In any case,, no reliable estimate on the proposed strength
can be made until work on the new police budget commencer-,. This
is expected to be s)metime in January 1949.
SECRET
Approved For Release 1999/09/08 : CIA-RDP82-00457R002100070002-3