The (FPR; Voluntary Police Reserve) was an

auxiliary police Auxiliary police, also called special police, are usually the part-time reserves of a regular police force. They may be armed or unarmed. They may be unpaid volunteers or paid members of the police service with which they are affiliated. The po ...

service of the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

state of

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

. It was founded on 25 May 1961 as reaction to the emerging

Combat Groups of the Working Class The Combat Groups of the Working Class (german: Kampfgruppen der Arbeiterklasse, KdA) was a paramilitary organization in the German Democratic Republic (GDR) from 1953 to 1989. The KdA served as the ''de facto'' militia of the ruling Socialist Un ...

and should originally help out the Berlin Police in riots and to defend

West Berlin West Berlin (german: Berlin (West) or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin during the years of the Cold War. Although West Berlin was de jure not part of West Germany, lacked any sovereignty, and was under mi ...

in case of an attack (urban warfare and object protection). For this purpose, the police reservists were trained in the use of

small arms A firearm is any type of gun designed to be readily carried and used by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see Legal definitions). The first firearms originated in 10th-century China, when bamboo tubes c ...

Trouble with neo-Nazis

In the last years of its existence, many neo-Nazis felt attracted due to the intensive firearm training and became members of the force, arousing criticism of the media: In 1993, an examination showed that around 500 of the 2500 members either had a criminal record or were affiliated with neo-Nazi groups.

Dissolving of the Police Reserve

In 1999, the auxiliary police force was renamed to '' Freiwilliger Polizeidienst (FPD)'' and shut down in 2002 for financial reasons.CDU will Bürgerwehr in Berlin wieder einführen vom 28 Februar 2011, retrieved, 22 May 2013
/ref>

References

{{Reflist Defunct law enforcement agencies of Germany Government agencies established in 1961 Government agencies disestablished in 2002

Trouble with neo-Nazis

Dissolving of the Police Reserve

See also

References