Bundesgrenzschutz

thumb|BGS Federal Eagle (Bundesadler) worn from 1952 until 1976

(; abbreviation: BGS, Federal Border Guard) was the federal police force of the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany), later renamed the (Federal Police). Established on 16 March 1951 as a subordinate agency of the Federal Ministry of the Interior, the BGS originally focused on protecting the borders of West Germany, including its land and maritime frontiers. In its early years, BGS units had military structures, training, and equipment, and its law enforcement officers held legal military combatant status until 1994.

A significant portion of early BGS personnel transferred to the newly founded German Armed Forces (Bundeswehr) in 1956, contributing to West Germany's rearmament.

The BGS was finally renamed Bundespolizei on 1 July 2005. The change of name did not alter the agency's legal status or constitution, but reflected its development into a multi‑faceted police force with responsibilities including land and maritime border protection, railway policing, and aviation security.

History

After the Second World War, and under the conditions of Allied occupation, the newly formed Federal Republic of Germany sought to establish an independent federal border guard and police service. The Federal Border Guard Act (Bundesgrenzschutzgesetz) was adopted by the federal cabinet on 14 November 1950 and passed by the Bundestag on 15 February 1951.

The Cold War had begun, but travel between East and West Germany was not yet restricted by the Berlin Wall, which was erected in 1961. German nationals could move freely from the German Democratic Republic to the Federal Republic of Germany in Berlin, although individuals attempting to cross the inner-German border elsewhere were typically commercial smugglers or espionage agents carrying contraband such as radio transmitters. The Allied occupation authorities considered that these activities could be more effectively policed by a permanent German force familiar with the border terrain, and at German rather than Allied expense. The Bundesgrenzschutz was therefore organised along paramilitary lines in battalions, companies, and platoons, and equipped as light infantry. Despite this structure, it remained a police force under the authority of the Federal Ministry of the Interior rather than the Ministry of Defence.

A maritime border‑guard unit (Seegrenzschutz) was formed as part of the BGS on 1 July 1951. On 19 June 1953 its authorized strength was expanded to 20,000 men, a mixture of conscripts and volunteers equipped with armoured cars, anti-tank guns, helicopters, trucks and jeeps. By 1956, it had a strength of 16,414 men. Upon the formation of the Bundeswehr in 1955, over 10,000 members of the BGS voluntarily joined the new German military in 1956. The Seegrenzschutz (Maritime Border Guard) was completely absorbed into the German Navy that year. A new maritime border guard unit was set up in the fall of 1964 as the Bundesgrenzschutz See (BGS See; BGS Sea).

Although it was not intended to be able to repel a full-scale invasion, the BGS was tasked with dealing with small-scale threats to the security of West Germany's borders, including the international borders as well as the inner German border. It had limited police powers within its zone of operations to enable it to deal with threats to the peace of the border. The BGS had a reputation for assertiveness, which made it especially unpopular with East Germans, who routinely criticized it as a reincarnation of the Zollgrenzschutz from the days of Nazi Germany. It also sustained a long-running feud with the Bundeszollverwaltung over which agency should have the lead responsibility for the inner German border.

The passing of the German Emergency Acts on 30 May 1968 relieved the BGS of its quasi-military tasks, because the Bundeswehr could now operate inside the Federal Republic in the case of an emergency. A military rank structure similar to that of the Bundeswehr was replaced in the mid-1970s by civil service-type personnel grades. The service uniform was green, but field units wore Sumpftarnmuster-type camouflage fatigues and, at times, M40/51 pattern steel helmets and military training was still carried out.

thumb|An [[Aérospatiale SA 330 Puma|Aerospatiale SA.330J Puma helicopter operated by the West German Bundesgrenzschutz in 1985]]

In 1972, the BGS became responsible for the security of the Federal Constitutional Court, the Bundespräsident (Federal President), the Bundeskanzler (Federal Chancellor), the Foreign Office, and the Federal Ministry of the Interior.

Heckler & Koch Granatpistole 40 mm / MZP 1 (HK69A1 grenade launcher family)
G8A1
Heckler & Koch PSG1
Rheinmetall MG3
D34 HAFLA (Handflammpatrone)
PzF 44
FIM-43 Redeye
M-43 cap (Feldmütze)
M-35 Helmet
M53/35 helmet
M 1931 canteen
Bundesgrenzschutz-Stumpfmuster[Marsh Pattern] camouflage pattern (3 variants from 1952 to 1976)

Vehicles

Tempo (car)
DKW Munga
Mowag MR 8
Sonderwagen 3 (Alvis Saladin)
Mercedes-Benz G-Class
Thyssen Henschel UR-416
Mercedes-Benz NG
TM-170
Draisines (post-1992)

Aircraft

Dornier UH-1D (13 allocated)
Aérospatiale SA 330 Puma
MBB Bo 105

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File:Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-F075997-0011, Bonn, BMI, Uniformen Bundesgrenzschutz.jpg|BGS uniforms

File:Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-F010413-0001, Lübeck, Jubiläum BGS, Parade.jpg|10th anniversary parade in Lübeck, 1961. Visible vehicles are Mowag MR 8s.

File:Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-F010964-0008, Lübeck, Jubiläum BGS, BMI Schröder.jpg|10th anniversary parade in Lübeck, 1961. The vehicle in the foreground is a DKW-Munga.

File:2006-08 Frankfurt (Oder) 12.jpg|Water cannon [Mercedes-Benz NG 2628 WaWe 90002006-08], Frankfurt (Oder) 12

File:Hanomag AL-28 BGS Funkkraftwagen L.png|Hanomag AL-28 BGS Funkkraftwagen (Radio Car) L

File:BGS-Hubschrauber Alouette II.jpg|alt=Green-painted helicopter with "Bundesgrenzschutz" on the side flies parallel to a border fence with a gate in it, behind which are two East German soldiers and a canvas-sided truck.|A Bundesgrenzschutz Alouette II helicopter patrols the West German side of the inner German border, 1985.

File:U.S. Army jeep and soldiers with West German Bundesgrenzschutz officers, 1978.jpg|Members of the 11th Armored Cavalry stop to talk with West German border police while patrolling the border between East and West Germany in M151 light vehicles.

File:Inner german border herrnburg.jpg|alt=View of a road terminating in a red and white horizontal barrier, with trees on either side. Four people, two in uniform, are standing on the near side of the barrier. On the far side is another uniformed man standing in a grassy field. In the far background is a high metal fence and a tall watchtower with an octagonal cabin at its top.|West German border guard, civilians and an East German border guard on opposite sides of the border line at Herrnburg near Lübeck.

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References

Bibliography

External links

BPOL History site
Bundespolizei home page (in German)
Information brochure about the Bundespolizei (in German and English) last updated August 2005

; German language pages on the BGS

(in German) - You can see the old Bundesgrenzschutz in historic pictures and films and you can listen songs of the Bundesgrenzschutz
BPOL BGS History page
http://www.beim-alten-bgs.de
http://www.bgs-erinnerung.de
http://www.grenzstreife.de
Die Mowag-Sonderwagen des BGS