- Transportpolizei
The Transportpolizei (German for "Transport Police") was the
transit police of theGerman Democratic Republic (East Germany ), whose officers were commonly nicknamed TraPos. It was part of theVolkspolizei and dealt with all modes of transit but primarily with trains and railroads. It consisted of approximately 8,500 men, that were organized from a national level and at district level with each Deutsche Reichsbahn district. They wore dark-blue uniforms (that were colloquially called “blueberries”) instead of the standard green "Volkspolizei" uniform. They were organized into sixteen companies and equipped with small arms andRPG-7 shoulder-fired antitank grenade launchers. The "Transportpolizei" supervised all larger train stations and controlled the travellers, particularly at the border withWest Germany , and directed traffic. Before the building of theBerlin Wall , the "Transportpolizei" controlled theS-Bahn inWest Berlin (as the Deutsche Reichsbahn controlled the S-Bahn in both East andWest Berlin ). In the 'interzone courses' (later called 'transit courses') there was always an escort party of the "Transportpolizei" present. The service training school of the "Transportpolizei" was in Halle.From January 1953 until February 1957 the "Transportpolizei" was part of the Ministry for Public Security, in turn part of the Office of the Secretary of State. Starting from March 1957 it was transferred to the "Volkspolizei", whose supervising inspector was Otto Auerswald.
After
German reunification in 1990 the "Transportpolizei" was made into a force responsible only for guarding the railways. OnApril 1 1992 the "Transportpolizei" was taken over by the German Federal Border Guard (now called the German Federal Police).
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