I've been trying to figure out what sort of building to use as a scene in East Germany, preferably one that would be used 24 hours a day, 7 days a week (if anything did) and figured a police station building would be a likely choice. I also happened to read Osprey's "German Police Forces Of World War Two" and can assume East German police ran along much the same lines. I did try to look up such a station building myself but came up with nothing. I also assume a Volkspolizei station would be much like most other police stations.

Hi Tom,

there is hardly anything duller than the Vopo! They did not even have decent cars..!

Anyway, the police stations would be the same as before and there is no special look to them! They are located in normal buildings, and there is nothing spectacular to identify them!

So in big towns like Berlin, it would be brick construction without anything special!

Maybe you might want to reconsider your project..!?!??

Cheers

Romain

Heavens, no! The fact that it would look dull and drab would be perfect! The uglier, the better-this is Communism, you know.

Yeah, the usual post-war communist concrete mono-lithic block.

That's the rub. I know that housing, factories, offices, etc. were made of ugly concrete block buildings, but I wondered what the program was for public and government buildings. I cannot help but think of those huge neo-classical towers built in major Easter European cities by Uncle Joe.

there is hardly anything duller than the Vopo! They did not even have decent cars.

If only there was a Trabant in 1/35th scale!

Hi,

it's sounds like an interessting project.
First i would agree with that the police stations didn't lokk differnt from any other police station in germany. Nothing special in east germany. After the end of the third reich the police remaind nearly untouched by the allies - the same buildings and much too often the same guys. But if you want to google once again you should use the terms "polizeirevier" or "volkspolizeirevier" instead of "station".
On youtube is a lot of stuff about the Volkspolizei. The DDR produced an police drama tv serie called "Polizeiruf 110" (it's produced until today). In my mind this series show an reletivly good example how east germany looked apart from propaganda pictures in this or that direction.

Hot pursuit (animals were harmed)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=noWr8WnxGyw

Similar to the Volkspolizei and also on 24 hours duty customs.

Things not allowed at minute 8:28
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FaevotLAnI

On other building which is often open is a Gasstaion. Maybe not 24 hours (on the autobahn maybe but i don#t know. "Minol"was the company which run the gasstations in east germany.

Despite that there are other building which are far more iconic for the DDR. For example the Intershops were people could buy products from west germany for werst german money.
Or the "Delikatladen" shops which were very expensive Or the "Konsum" shops for ordinary people.

Lastly, yes socialist architecture is famous for it's concrete apartment buildings but that#s just the half of the truth.


http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Architektur_in_der_Deutschen_Demokratischen_Republik

Thanks! Of course the Third Reich police forces were filled with people (according to my book) who were not considered politically reliable by the Nazi regime; they had to be put somwhere where they could do little damage, I presume.

I also assume that police uniforms were little changed from Nazi times to the later Soviet times. There could be more police figures put out by modelmakers in the near future.

Yes the Nazis were suspicious towards the police. Because they fought against each other during the 1920s and early 1930s. The munich police stopped for example Hitler's first attempt to overtake the state in 1923. Despite that the german police became a vital part in the Nazi system of repression. Not only in Germany itself but in the occupied countries aswell.

The german police uniforms were changed only a bit after the war. at least until the 1960s. Until the 1960s german police officers in the east and the west were wearing a shako. (Like the figure in Miniat's "German Civilians" kit). The later uniforms differt al lot from those in war times.

I should probably add that in 1962, many if not most Vopo stations were stuck into whatever intact or easily repaired buildings of suitable type were available a decade ago, and there probably weren't many building specially built for the police forces at the time.

Ah, but the memories of my many interactions with the VoPo in the zone are priceless. The ones by the GrenzTruppen, not so...

It occurred to me that my problem isn't what a Volkspolizei building looks like so much as what its front entrance would look like. Old-time American police stations have concrete steps and railings, each of which has a black light pole topped with a white globe light, just as American barbershops invariably have some representation of the traditional white barber pole with red and blue stripes. What would the doors and outside markings be like, what sort of lobby does it have, etc.