Grenztruppen der DDR - The East German Border Troops
In the Eaglehorse border area, the East
German barrier system was manned by personnel from two different
border regiments. The northern and central portion of our area was
staffed by Border Troops of the 2nd battalion, Grenzregiment 3, HQ
located in the town of Kaltennordheim. This regiment carried the
honor title of " Florian Geyer ". The southern portion of our sector
was manned by Border Troops of Regiment 9, honor title " Konrad
Blenkle ". Regimental HQ and the 3rd battalion were at Drachenberg
Kaserne in Meiningen. The 3rd battalion, however, was responsible for
the security at the Hinterland fence and the internal restricted
area. The barrier fence in the southern zone was staffed by men of
the 1st battalion, HQ in Roemhild, a small town very close to our
southern patrol boundary.
Typically, the line companies of the
Border Troop battalions occupied their own separate barracks located
inside the restricted zone in a village within their patrol area.
The barracks consisted of billets for the soldiers, a motor pool and
shop as well as an administration building. Married officers and
higher level NCO's typically lived in private dwellings in or near the
same village. Each company consisted of about 120 men at full
strength, three regular platoons and the GAK (Grenzaufklarer)
platoon. The GAK's were those Border Troops seen at close range, on
the western side of the barrier fence, either providing security
during construction or observing the West. The GAK's were the elite
of the Border Troop units.
Although half of the Border Troops were
conscripts and had a high replacement rate as their tour of duty
ended, the career soldiers, NCO's and officers provided a stable and
well trained cadre. Much of their training was similar to the
soldiers of the East German Army and in fact, they had heavy equipment
to include tanks and artillery located outside of the border area.
Border Troop regiments were part of a command subordinate to the
Ministry of Defense but outside of the command structure of the Army.
In the event of war, they had missions inside the border area
extending into West Germany.
The pay and benefits for the Border
Troops was comparable to that given to members of the East Germany
Army. Each pay grade had a salary rate, soldiers serving in
technical or command positions received extra pay while serving in
those capacities. Longevity in pay grade led to an increase. In 1980
East German Marks, a private in his second year of service would
receive about 180 marks monthly. A mid level NCO, about 350. This
same NCO, if serving as a squad leader could receive as much as a 100%
increase. If on " career status " he could also be entitled to up
to 38 days of leave. Small deductions were made for living in the
barracks and for meals .
Duty days were long and the six day work
week common. Off duty time was restricted to the immediate area of
the company barracks or nearby village. When not on actual border
duty, there were normal military and security training events as well
as mandatory organized sports. No civilian clothes were allowed for
the junior enlisted men. Any attempt at contact with the West or
possession of Western media was a highly punishable offense. Internal
security in the barracks to include peer monitoring was stressed to
insure anyone giving thought to an escape to the West was identified.
Barracks friends were not assigned to
the same duty patrols to prevent collusion.
There were extensive training programs
to include schools and academies for both NCO's and officers. Both
political education and on going security training were stressed at
all levels; it was a professional organization with a sworn honor code
to protect the security of the East German state. In this capacity,
they had " shoot to kill orders " to prevent escape from East
Germany. During the history of the barrier fence system, nearly 1000
deaths due to gun fire, mines or injuries received while attempting
to escape were recorded.
After Germany reunified, a long legal
battle led to indictments of senior Border Troop commanders as well as
rank and file soldiers as the new government in Berlin struggled with
the legacy of the barrier system. In certain cases, manslaughter
convictions resulted with prision terms of up to ten years for the
guilty.
Within the Eaglehorse sector, the former
regimental headquarters at Drachenberg in Meiningen is now a civilian
police acadamy. Of the company size barracks scattered along the
former trace, some have been redeveloped into low income housing,
others partially converted to industrial space and some are vacant and
in decay.
Border Troop awards ceremony
at Eishausen, 1989. Erwin Ritter
The Frankenheim Border Troop company barracks in our northern
patrol sector. Ritter
Company size barracks at town of Erbenhausen central part of
Eaglehorse patrol sector. Ritter
Award being
presented to departing Border Troop company commander, 1979.
Stefanowicz / GT der DRR Heft
