''Polizeiruf 110'' ("Police call 110") is a long-running

German-language German ( ) is a West Germanic language mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and official or co-official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and the Italian province of South Tyrol. It is also a ...

detective A detective is an investigator, usually a member of a law enforcement agency. They often collect information to solve crimes by talking to witnesses and informants, collecting physical evidence, or searching records in databases. This leads th ...

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed be ...

likened to

Poirot Hercule Poirot (, ) is a fictional Belgians, Belgian detective created by British writer Agatha Christie. Poirot is one of Christie's most famous and long-running characters, appearing in 33 novels, two plays (''Black Coffee (play), Black Coffe ...

. The name links to the

emergency telephone number Most public switched telephone networks have a single emergency telephone number (sometimes known as the universal emergency telephone number or the emergency services number) that allows a caller to contact local emergency services for assis ...

of the ''

Volkspolizei The ''Deutsche Volkspolizei'' (DVP, German for "German People's Police"), commonly known as the ''Volkspolizei'' or VoPo, was the national police force of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) from 1945 to 1990. The Volkspolizei was a h ...

''. The first episode was broadcast 27 June 1971 in the

German Democratic Republic 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 **G ...

(GDR), and after the dissolution of Deutscher Fernsehfunk the series was picked up by ARD. It was originally created as a counterpart to the West German series ''

Tatort ''Tatort'' ("Crime scene") is a German language police procedural television series that has been running continuously since 1970 with some 30 feature-length episodes per year, which makes it the longest-running German TV drama. Developed b ...

'', and quickly became a public favorite. In contrast with other television crime series in which killings are practically the primary focus, while ''Tatort'' handled homicide cases, the cases handled in the GDR TV's ''Polizeiruf'' were more often more frequent crimes such as

domestic violence Domestic violence (also known as domestic abuse or family violence) is violence or other abuse that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. ''Domestic violence'' is often used as a synonym for '' intimate partn ...

extortion Extortion is the practice of obtaining benefit through coercion. In most jurisdictions it is likely to constitute a criminal offence; the bulk of this article deals with such cases. Robbery is the simplest and most common form of extortion, ...

fraud In law, fraud is intentional deception to secure unfair or unlawful gain, or to deprive a victim of a legal right. Fraud can violate civil law (e.g., a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrator to avoid the fraud or recover monetary compen ...

theft Theft is the act of taking another person's property or services without that person's permission or consent with the intent to deprive the rightful owner of it. The word ''theft'' is also used as a synonym or informal shorthand term for som ...

and

juvenile delinquency Juvenile delinquency, also known as juvenile offending, is the act of participating in unlawful behavior as a minor or individual younger than the statutory age of majority. In the United States of America, a juvenile delinquent is a perso ...

, as well as

alcoholism Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol that results in significant mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predomi ...

child abuse Child abuse (also called child endangerment or child maltreatment) is physical, sexual, and/or psychological maltreatment or neglect of a child or children, especially by a parent or a caregiver. Child abuse may include any act or failure to a ...

and

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ...

. Contrary to ''Tatort'', which concentrated on the primary characters and their private lives, police procedure was the center of attention of ''Polizeiruf'', especially in the earlier episodes. The scriptwriters attached particular importance to the representation of the criminal and his state of mind, as well as the context of the crime. Many episodes aimed to teach and enlighten the audience about what does and what does not constitute appropriate behaviour and appropriate thought, rather than just to entertain. ''Polizeiruf'' was one of the few broadcasts by GDR media in which the real problems and difficulties of the supposedly more advanced socialist society could be displayed and discussed to some extent, albeit in a fictionalized and pedagogicalized environment. In 1990 the episode was produced as a

crossover Crossover may refer to: Entertainment Albums and songs * ''Cross Over'' (Dan Peek album) * ''Crossover'' (Dirty Rotten Imbeciles album), 1987 * ''Crossover'' (Intrigue album) * ''Crossover'' (Hitomi Shimatani album) * ''Crossover'' (Yoshino ...

with the West German ''Tatort'' crime series, in which

Horst Schimanski Horst Schimanski is a homicide detective with a leading role in the German crime television series ''Tatort'', as well as the spin-off ''Schimanski''. Portrayed by Götz George, the character made his debut in the 1981 episode and appeared in ...

coworked with

Hauptmann is a German word usually translated as captain when it is used as an officer's rank in the German, Austrian, and Swiss armies. While in contemporary German means 'main', it also has and originally had the meaning of 'head', i.e. ' literally ...

''Peter Fuchs'' and

Oberleutnant () is the highest lieutenant officer rank in the German-speaking armed forces of Germany (Bundeswehr), the Austrian Armed Forces, and the Swiss Armed Forces. Austria Germany In the German Army, it dates from the early 19th century. Tr ...

''Thomas Grawe'' in a case of homicide and

smuggling Smuggling is the illegal transportation of objects, substances, information or people, such as out of a house or buildings, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations. There are variou ...

committed by former members of the

Stasi The Ministry for State Security, commonly known as the (),An abbreviation of . was the state security service of the East Germany from 1950 to 1990. The Stasi's function was similar to the KGB, serving as a means of maintaining state autho ...

. After the end of the GDR, the series was taken over by the ARD as a franchise similar to the ''Tatort'' series. The local members of the ARD produce their own episodes, which are aired by the ARD. West German settings and characters came into the show. Parallel to the ''Tatort'' series, the ORF joined the ''Polizeiruf'' franchise with its own productions. Consequently, those episodes are renamed ''Polizeiruf 133'' because of the different emergency telephone number in Austria, while the West German emergency call uses the same number as the East German. The ARD's ''Polizeiruf'' deals mostly with murders and homicides, while the focus has been more on entertainment rather than any teaching or enlightening. More emphasis was put on the characters and personal lives of the detectives, and there has been relatively little difference overall between the newer ''Polizeiruf'' episodes and the contemporary ''Tatort'' episodes. However, ''Polizeiruf'' continues to feature more (post-reunification)

East German East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

settings than in ''Tatort''. A 1974 episode based on the case of serial killer

Erwin Hagedorn Hans Erwin Hagedorn (30 January 1952 – 15 September 1972) was an East German serial killer who murdered three young boys from 1969 until 1971. Murders On 31 May 1969 Hagedorn killed two nine-year-old boys, Henry Specht and Mario Louis, in a f ...

was banned by the politburo, which feared an uncomfortable public debate about the

death penalty Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that ...

. A script and silent tape of the episode, thought lost, were rediscovered in 2009, and the sound was re-dubbed for broadcast with new actors (the episode was aired 23 June 2011 by

Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk (MDR; ''Central German Broadcasting'') is the public broadcaster for the federal states of Thuringia, Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt in Germany. Established in January 1991, its headquarters are in Leipzig, with regional studi ...

DR. In 2014, the series was broadcast with English subtitles in the USA on MHz WorldView under the title ''Bukow and König'' (2010–2014 episodes).

Prominent cast members

Peter Borgelt Peter Borgelt (20 September 1927 – 18 March 1994) was a German television actor. Borgelt was best known for playing the character of Hauptmann Fuchs in the long-running series ''Polizeiruf 110'' between 1971 and 1991. As with this series he o ...

as Hauptmann, later Kriminalhauptkommissar Peter Fuchs (84 episodes, 1971–1991) * Jürgen Frohriep as Oberleutnant, later Kriminaloberkommissar Jürgen Hübner (68 episodes, 1972–1994) * Sigrid Göhler as Leutnant Vera Arndt (49 episodes, 1971–2001) * Wolfgang Winkler as Hauptkommissar Herbert Schneider (50 episodes, 1979–2013) * Andreas Schmidt-Schaller as Leutnant, Oberleutnant, later Kriminaloberkommissar Thomas Grawe (40 episodes, 1973–2004) * Jaecki Schwarz as Hauptkommissar Herbert Schmücke ''(together with Schneider)'' (38 episodes, 1987–2007) * Horst Krause Polizeihauptmeister Krause (35 episodes, 1987–2015) * Lutz Riemann as Oberleutnant, later Kriminaloberkommissar Lutz Zimmermann (25 episodes, 1983–1991) *

Edgar Selge Edgar Selge (born 27 March 1948) is a German actor and writer. Selge was born in Brilon in 1949, the son of a prison warden, grew up in Herford Herford (; nds, Hiarwede) is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, located in the lowlands b ...

as Kriminalhauptkommissar Jürgen Tauber (21 episodes, 1998–2009) * Günter Naumann as Kriminalhauptkommissar Günter Beck (21 episodes, 1973–2001) *

Michaela May Michaela (Hebrew מיכאלה) is a female given name. It is a female form of the Hebrew name Michael (מִיכָאֵל), which means "Who is like God". As of 2008, it was 357th in rank for newborn girls in the United States, and 325th in England ...

as Kriminalhauptkommissarin Jo Obermaier (17 episodes, 2001–2009) * Imogen Kogge as Hauptkommissarin Johanna Herz (12 episodes, 2002–2010) *

Henry Hübchen Henry Hübchen (born 20 February 1947 in Berlin) is a German actor who played the title character in the award-winning 2004 film '' Go for Zucker''. That performance earned him a Lola, Germany's equivalent of an Oscar, and critical praise at h ...

as Tobias Törner (5 episodes, 2003–2005)Imdb.de
/ref>

External links

* * *List of episodes in the

German Wikipedia The German Wikipedia (german: Deutschsprachige Wikipedia) is the German-language edition of Wikipedia, a free and publicly editable online encyclopedia. Founded on March 16, 2001, it is the second-oldest Wikipedia (after the English Wikipedi ...

References

{{Authority control ARD (broadcaster) Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg Ostdeutscher Rundfunk Brandenburg German drama television series 1980s German television series 1990s German television series 2000s German television series 2010s German television series 1971 German television series debuts German crime television series Detective television series 1970s German police procedural television series 1980s German police procedural television series 1990s German police procedural television series 2000s German police procedural television series 2010s German police procedural television series 2020s German police procedural television series Television in East Germany German-language television shows Grimme-Preis for fiction winners