The Felix Dzerzhinsky Guards Regiment (German: Wachregiment "Feliks E. Dzierzynski") was an elite motorized rifles regiment under the command of the Ministry for State Security of the German Democratic Republic (GDR). It was named in honor of Felix Dzerzhinsky, founder of the Soviet secret police. As the only highly visible part of the feared Stasi, it was very unpopular with the population.
Contents |
It was tasked with protecting government and party buildings in the GDR capital of East Berlin and the security of the party leaders' residential compound in Wandlitz, near Berlin. Per Soviet practice, the regiment was a politically-reliable internal security force that could be deployed to suppress rebellion and unrest.[1]
The Regiment was subdivided into commands as of 1980 to 1989:
The site was acquired by the Ahrensfelde guard regiment until mid-January 1989. Until then he had formed of accommodation facility for UAV units of the Ministry for State Security (e.g., backup units of VRD, BDL, HA VI, AGMS). These units were uniformed as well as the guard and security units of the counties of the Stasi (BV) no subdivision of the guards regiment. Part of these units were merged in January 1989 into the guard regiment, which is why the site was taken over by the Ahrensfelde guard regiment. Until 1989, the guard regiment had no "locations in the districts. The service objects there were guarded by the WSE, which were placed under the respective BV.
The personnel strength of the regiment:
Commanders of the guards regiment were:
Guard regiment in the military service was completed as WED (alternative military service). The term of service for conscripts was three years. Was convened in contrast to the army in April and September / October, a month earlier.
For military service in the guard regiment were exclusively recruits from a particularly politically reliable force families moved in, with an express wish of the conscripts only in some cases played a role. Basically, any recruits have already been selected by the appropriate MfS county and district offices and then the convening authority (district military command) mentioned as possible contenders for the guard regiment in Berlin. The recruits took place in the majority of cases no preliminary, but they were relevant to the Stasi-circuit or district office ordered, where all subjects were tested for their political reliability, and to them a three-year military service was proposed. This selection for "Three-year" always had its beginnings in the military district headquarters of the districts which had the leading survey of all vintages to be recovered within the GDR. Against the elitist preselected by the Stasi could not defend or county. Military district denied. The Stasi inspected in principle, all conscripts who had agreed to a three-year military service, and selected out of this stock its recruits. The guard regiment no reservists were deployed, which means that soldiers who had completed their service in the WR was recovered is usually not returned to the WR.
Many conscripts in Adlershof traditionally decorated the fence of the building next door to them (DFF; German TV broadcasting) with the locks from their lockers when they were dismissed. These locks were removed every year.
It received the same training and equipment as the Alert Police and some of its personnel were paratroopers. It was also equipped with modern armored fighting vehicles and armored personnel carriers, anti-tank guns, anti-aircraft weapons and mortars.
The guard regiment was equipped with small arms (pistol Makarov, Walther PP, Kalashnikov AK-47, AK-74, LMG, RPG-7) to light armored personnel carriers (SPW 60 PB, SPW, 70, PSH).
Stationed in the command 3 (on military Teupitz - cones), there was also a battalion of special weapons. It consisted of a company, which was armed with heavy anti-tank recoilless gun SPG-9 (in 1987, was reorganized into a rifle company), a company which is an essential weapon, the heavy machine gun (HMG-company) and had the 70mm - anti-aircraft missile armed "Strela-2 'Company. Until 1982 there was also an artillery detachment armed with 122mm howitzer D30. Previously they had 85-mm PaK D-44, and 82mm mortars and 120 mm in the stock.
Regulators company RSK was additionally can be equipped with the AKS74 around the shoulder stock to collapse. At least in the 1970s, the former intelligence battalion, the mortar batteries and the I-battalion with Kalashnikovs in the S version were equipped. Specialized units such as the honor companies (28. and 29 MSK of the 10th MSB) were fitted in addition to the above-mentioned weapons, rifles and sabers.
The paratrooper company, located in the reconnaissance battalion also used the small Skorpion machine pistol from Czechoslovakia.
Personnel transport were mainly prepared by W50 and the Ural trucks. In line with this design the vehicles of the army, however, bore the registration plates of the People's Police, with the letters stacked VP. When events were Ikarus buses used.
For large events, there were as accessories batons (flexible), down from 1989 shields and helmets and chains.
Its uniforms were nearly identical to those of the those of National People's Army (NVA) and were distinguished primarily by the dark red MfS service color of its insignia and by an honorary cuffband on the left sleeve bearing the regiment's name. Other Stasi officers wore a similar uniform, but without the cuffband. Members were selected from among the most reliable volunteer recruits and had to perform a three-year minimum service tour.[1]
The service or dress uniform of the regiment was an army uniform made of high quality (of officers) with claret fabric collar and brown (officer) leather belt. The left sleeve was fitted with a cuffband and the words "wachregiment F. Dzerzhinsky".
Soldiers of the MOS units typically had the following personal uniforms:
In command 4 - Eberswalde-Finow in Bernau contributed UAZ, professional officers and professional officers uniforms of the regular army with weapons Color black (pioneers) and (white Motorized Rifle) to camouflage the Wachregimentseinsatzes. The UAZ wore the army uniform from the rough cloth.
The civilian dress was issued for use from stores. This was quite uniform, and often targeted for supposedly "young people" so unusual that it was often striking. The civilian clothes should meet anyway and in any case a Tarnfunktion. The presence of security forces was not kept secret, but quite openly documented. This was precisely one of the tasks of the guard regiment in Berlin. Camouflaged forces were often also posted. These were the recruits of the guards regiment but mostly unknowns. After 1987, on appropriate occasions, guards personnel only wore privately purchased civilian clothes.
After 6 months of service were authorized to SaZ and UAZ in the main, leave, and take private civilian clothes. From the civilian population, units of the Guards Regiment with the construction of the Berlin Wall have been associated. After harassment in Berlin pubs and dance halls, and attacks on members of the guards regiment in East Berlin since 1987, could only go out in civilian clothes. On outings and holiday trips, the passport was issued and withdrawn the military ID card.
The regiment was one of three guards regiments in the GDR. The other two were units of the regular army:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||