The Felix Dzerzhinsky Guards Regiment (German: Wachregiment "Feliks E. Dzierzynski") was the paramilitary wing of the Ministry for State Security (Stasi), the security service of the German Democratic Republic (GDR).

The Felix Dzerzhinsky Guards Regiment was called a regiment, and as time went on, the elite formation grew to the size of a motorized infantry division with its constituent Kommandos made up of battalions. Its role in the Stasi was the protection of buildings and high-ranking officials of the GDR government and the Socialist Unity Party of Germany and was also a highly trained Motorized Infantry and public security force.

It was composed of experienced and ideologically reliable men separate from the National People's Army that could be deployed to suppress rebellion and unrest.

History

The Guards Battalion A at the MfS (Wachbataillon A beim MfS) was founded on January 1, 1951 as an armed force to complement the Ministry for State Security (MfS or Stasi), the security service of the German Democratic Republic (GDR). The GDR was a de facto communist state established in 1949 from the Soviet occupation zone and was ruled by the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED) with significant Soviet influence. Despite authoritarian measures to suppress political opposition, the threat of instability remained. The SED followed the Soviet model of creating a dedicated elite and politically loyal armed force to protect itself.

The Guards Battalion A participated in the suppression of the Uprising of 1953 against the SED's Stalinist policies. In November 1954, the Guards Battalion A was set up as the official paramilitary wing of the Stasi and its staff headquartered in Adlershof, East Berlin. In August 1961, units of the Guards Battalion A participated in the construction of the Berlin Wall. In 1967, the Guards Battalion A was officially renamed the Felix Dzerzhinsky Guards Regiment (Wachregiment "Feliks E. Dzierzynski")

Scholarly research into the regiment after the end of the Cold War mentions that FDGR soldiers had trained PLO and other Middle Eastern and South American-based terrorists at a classified military base known as Objekt 74 at Briesen.

Organization

At full strength, the regiment consisted of over 11,200 personnel, including 2,500 officers, 8,735 NCOs and enlisted men, and nine civil staff. Its commander was a Major General after 1956.

Structure

  • Three combat groups with six motorized rifle battalions and three training battalions
  • Artillery Battalion
  • Engineer Battalion
  • Medical, signal, support and reconnaissance companies.
  • Helicopter Squadron with six Mi-2s and Mi-8s and Mi-24s.
  • Stasi Arbeitsgruppe des Ministers S

Reorganization

The Regiment was subdivided into the following commands from 1980 to 1989:

  • Kommando 1 – Standort Adlershof, Standorte in den Bezirken (Command 1 - Location Adlershof, locations in the districts)
  • Kommando 2 – Standort Erkner (Command 2 - Location Erkner)
  • Kommando 3 – Standort Teupitz (Command 3 - Location Teupitz)
  • Kommando 4 – Standort Eberswalde-Finow (Command 4 - Location Eberswalde-Finow) - later (mid 1980s) in Erkner, Prenden and Biesenthal
  • Kommando 5 – Standort Berlin (Command 5 - Location Berlin) - until 1982, then Freienbrink and Ahrensfelde

The sites were inherited by the Ahrensfelde guard regiment in mid-January 1989. Until then they had formed accommodation facilities for UAV units of the Ministry for State Security (e.g., backup units of VRD, BDL, HA VI, AGMS). These units were the uniformed as well as the guard and security units of the units of the Stasi (BV), not a 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.

Senior management

Commanders of the guards regiment were:

  • 1962 to 1972: Major General Heinz Gronau (provisional)
  • 1972 to 1987: Colonel (Major General since 1976) Bernhard Elsner
  • 1987 to 1990: Major General Manfred Döring

Personnel strength

The personnel strength of the regiment:

  • 1955: 1.475
  • 1960: 4.372
  • 1965: 5,121
  • 1970: 7,924
  • 1975: 9,245
  • 1980: 10,082
  • 1985: 10,192
  • 1989: 11,426

Recruitment and training

Military service in the Guard regiment was completed as WED (abbr. Wehrersatzdienst, alternative military service). In contrast to the National People's Army, recruits were inducted in April and September / October, a month earlier.

Recruits were selected from soldiers and NCOs who served in the NVA as volunteers for three years. Most soldiers in the regiment are known to be parachute-qualified. Several players of BFC Dynamo and SG Dynamo Dresden made their military service with the regiment, such as Lutz Eigendorf and Matthias Sammer. The head of the Stasi Erich Mielke was also the president of SV Dynamo. It was, however, not possible to apply for the Felix Dzerzhinsky Guards Regiment. The Stasi selected who it thought fit to serve with the regiment.