6/16/2023 0 Comments Easter borders for word![]() At their peak, the Grenztruppen had up to 50,000 personnel. They were responsible for securing and defending the borders with West Germany, Czechoslovakia, Poland, the Baltic Sea and West Berlin. The newly renamed Border Troops of the GDR ( Grenztruppen, commonly nicknamed the "Grenzer") came under the NVA's Border Command or Grenzkommando. ![]() In 1961 the DGP was converted into a military force within the National People's Army ( Nationale Volksarmee, NVA). Although it was notionally a police force, it was equipped with heavy weapons, including tanks and self-propelled artillery. The DGP became increasingly militarised as the East German government decided that protecting the border was a military task. ![]() Soviet troops and the DGP shared responsibility for patrolling the border and crossing points until 1955/56, when the Soviets handed over control to the East Germans. In 1946, the Soviets established a locally recruited paramilitary force, the German Border Police ( Deutsche Grenzpolizei or DGP), under the administration of the Interior Ministry for Security of the State Frontier ( Innenministerium zum Schutz der Staatsgrenze). The East German side of the border was guarded initially by the Border Troops ( Pogranichnyie Voiska) of the Soviet NKVD (later the KGB). Grenzaufklärungszug (Border Reconnaissance) soldier taking photographs across the border
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