The ''Sicherheitspolizei'', or security police, was a militarized German police group set up in most states of the
Weimar Republic
The Weimar Republic (german: link=no, Weimarer Republik ), officially named the German Reich, was the government of Germany from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional federal republic for the first time in history; hence it is al ...
at the end of 1919 and largely financed by the central government. In its
anti-riot role it can be seen as roughly analogous to the ''
Bereitschaftspolizei
The ''Bereitschaftspolizei'' (literally 'Readiness Police'/On-Call Police (Reserve); effectively riot police) are the support and rapid reaction units of Germany's police forces. They are composed of detachments from the Federal Police and ...
'' in today's Federal Republic.
In view of the unstable internal political situation in the
Weimar Republic
The Weimar Republic (german: link=no, Weimarer Republik ), officially named the German Reich, was the government of Germany from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional federal republic for the first time in history; hence it is al ...
, especially in the imperial capital 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 ...
, Hauptmann
Waldemar Pabst
Ernst Julius Waldemar Pabst (24 December 1880 – 29 May 1970) was a German soldier and political activist, involved in right-wing and anti-communist activity in both his homeland and Austria. As a serving officer Pabst gained notoriety for orde ...
of the Imperial
Cavalry Guards Corps considered a barracked and militarily armed and trained police group necessary to control political violence. It was intended to be a more useful tool in the fight against insurrection than the existing police forces taken from the monarchy. After street
extensive general strikes and street violence in March 1919, Pabst sent a corresponding concept to the Reichswehr Minister
Gustav Noske
Gustav Noske (9 July 1868 – 30 November 1946) was a German politician of the Social Democratic Party (SPD). He served as the first Minister of Defence (''Reichswehrminister'') of the Weimar Republic between 1919 and 1920. Noske has been a cont ...
during the German Revolution of 1918–19. Noske approved the plan and promoted its formation together with
Wolfgang Heine
Wolfgang Heine (3 May 1861 – 9 May 1944) was a German jurist and social democrat politician. Heine was a member of the Imperial parliament and the Weimar National Assembly, he served as Minister President of the Free State of Anhalt and Prus ...
. According to Noske's wishes, the police group thus constituted the nucleus of the new
Reichswehr
''Reichswehr'' () was the official name of the German armed forces during the Weimar Republic and the first years of the Third Reich. After Germany was defeated in World War I, the Imperial German Army () was dissolved in order to be reshaped ...
. In September 1919, 2,500 local and municipal police officers protested against the construction of the new national police service. In contrast to local police, who usually wore blue uniforms, the Sipo were called the "green police" after their uniform color.
Conversion and reorganization
In response to protest from the French government in 1920, the national level security police units were dissolved were either sent to perform local policing. France feared a clandestine rearmament and saw the new para-military police force as a threat to its security. The planned airborne component of some security police had to be abandoned and their use of artillery and tanks were prohibited. France demanded the abolition of the green uniform, which they viewed as camouflage clothing. A blue uniform was introduced in most regions. Only Bavaria, Wurttemberg, Mecklenburg, and Bremen retained uniform components of a dark green color. The pants were mostly black or black-blue. Particularly striking was the Saxon version with a fairly light medium blue color. However, it took some years before the uniforming was completed, since the uniforms already purchased had to be used up before new ones could be requisitioned. Steel helmets were generally abolished and were not reissued until around 1930. The terms "Sipo" and "green police" continued in popular usage until the Nazi reorganization and disbandment of local police forces in 1935.
Strength, training, and equipment
The training of the security police was tailored to a para-militarily force. The standard service period, analogous to the Reichswehr, was 12 years. The transfer to the local police or
gendarmerie
Wrong info! -->
A gendarmerie () is a military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term ''gendarme'' () is derived from the medieval French expression ', which translates to " men-at-arms" (literally, ...
was by no means guaranteed, although in general a takeover was planned for the administrative service. With the global economic crisis of 1929, this could no longer be realized, as all countries had to save on personnel costs.
Equipment and armament was entirely designed for combat against heavily armed insurgents. Depending on the size of the member state, the security police had a number of so-called special cars, mostly British Daimler DZVR 21s or German Ehrhardt 21s, which were usually equipped with two turrets with one machine gun each. Machine guns, carbines, and grenades were also issued. The entire training, equipment and armament aimed at a civil war-like use both in large cities and in the countryside.
The security police were deployed extensively, combating the
KPD
The Communist Party of Germany (german: Kommunistische Partei Deutschlands, , KPD ) was a major political party in the Weimar Republic between 1918 and 1933, an underground resistance movement in Nazi Germany, and a minor party in West German ...
's organized strikes and riots, including the
Ruhr Uprising in the aftermath of the
Kapp-Putsch
The Kapp Putsch (), also known as the Kapp–Lüttwitz Putsch (), was an attempted coup against the German national government in Berlin on 13 March 1920. Named after its leaders Wolfgang Kapp and Walther von Lüttwitz, its goal was to undo the ...
in April 1920, the ''Mitteldeutscher Aufstand'' ("
March Action
The March Action (German "März Aktion" or "Märzkämpfe in Mitteldeutschland," i.e. "The March battles in Central Germany") was a 1921 failed Communist uprising, led by the Communist Party of Germany (KPD), the Communist Workers' Party of Germa ...
") in March and April 1921, and the
Hamburger Aufstand in October 1923, which were initiated in part by the KPD. From 1929 up to the ascension of the Nazi Party to power, the police were almost continuously engaged in operations protecting or dispersing demonstrations and political events.
Evolution after 1933
The Nazi concept of the role of the police originally called for only a very small force. Like the Communists, the National Socialists saw a kind of praetorian guardianship of the mainstream democratic parties, especially the SPD in Prussia, which continuously constituted the government there from 1919 to 1932. Moreover, on 9 November 1923, the
Hitler's putsch was defeated in Munich by the intervention of the Bavarian state police . As early as 1933, the transformation of the remaining local police into the national state police had begun. From August 1934 until the end of 1935 these were dissolved and its members transferred to the
Wehrmacht
The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previous ...
.
Gallery
References
Bibliography
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* Lothar Danner: '' Ordnungspolizei Hamburg. Betrachtungen zu ihrer Geschichte 1919-1933 '', Hamburg 1958.
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* Lankenau, Heinrich: '' Denkschrift aus Anlaß des 10-jährigen Bestehens der Oldenburger Ordnungspolizei '', Oldenburg 1929.
* Hellmuth Witt: '' Ergänzungen Lothar Danner: Ordnungspolizei Hamburg '', Hamburg 1985.
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{{refend
Defunct law enforcement agencies of the Weimar Republic
Weimar Republic