- Zollgrenzschutz
Zollgrenzschutz (ZGS) ( _de. Customs Border Guards) was from 1937 to 1945 an organization under the German Finance Ministry charged with guarding Germany's borders, acting as a combination Border Patrol and Customs & Immigration service.
It originated in the early 19th century as a tariff enforcement unit of the Prussian government. Reorganized in 1919 under the
Weimar Republic followingWorld War I , it gradually became more militarized and transformed into a paramilitary force, also due to the economic woes of blockade, inflation andGreat Depression .In
Nazi Germany it was reformed again in 1937 byFritz Reinhardt , a State Secretary of the Finance Ministry, while Himmler tried to get it under the controll of hisSS . During the war, the units were used in occupied territories outside of Germany. In July 1944 were placed under the control of theSicherheitspolizei . It was later deactivated at the end ofWorld War II whenGermany was partitioned.External links
* [http://www.zollgrenzschutz.de History of Zollgrenzschutz]
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