The ''Wachdienst'' (English: watch service) was a rural home guard organisation raised by the

Third Reich Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

during the last months of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, in 1945. The service was created to assist local authorities in rural areas, among other things, and elderly men in Germany, mostly farmers and other rural labourers, were forced into conscription. Members of the ''Wachdienst'' were often required to participate in local

fire brigade A fire department (American English) or fire brigade (Commonwealth English), also known as a fire authority, fire district, fire and rescue, or fire service in some areas, is an organization that provides fire prevention and fire suppression se ...

s and engage in related tasks. Others were involved in the oversight of farms in their area, and were required to look into pests affecting local crops and produce. In addition to this, and as the name of the unit implies, the ''Wachdienst'' were also tasked with home protection for civilians, and undertook

militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

-like duties in that respect.{{cite book, last=Thiel, first=Hans, author2=Hans Thiel , author3=John K. Roth , author4=Ivan Fehrenbach , title=The Wolves of World War II, publisher=McFarland, year=2007, isbn=978-0-7864-2971-4, pages=8 The service was one of many civilian organisations created under command of the Third Reich in Germany, in response to an increasing lack of manpower and supplies as the war dragged on and continued its demand for resources, human and not. As 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 previo ...

, the German military forces, were proving ineffective in stopping the advance of the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

on the Eastern Front due to a lack of units,

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

sanctioned the creation of such organisations on the home front, and civilians who were working in areas perceived to be non-essential were often enrolled. The ''Wachdienst'' should not be confused with the ''

Volkssturm The (; "people's storm") was a levée en masse national militia established by Nazi Germany during the last months of World War II. It was not set up by the German Army, the ground component of the combined German ''Wehrmacht'' armed forces, ...

'', a similar militia "home guard" unit formed in October 1944, whose name is roughly translated into English as "The People's Army".

Notes

1945 in Germany Military history of Germany during World War II