The Main Administration Sea Police (Hauptverwaltung Seepolizei (HVS)) was an East German maritime organization established with support of the Soviet Navy

Soviet Navy

The Soviet Navy was the naval arm of the Soviet Armed Forces. Often referred to as the Red Fleet, the Soviet Navy would have played an instrumental role in a Warsaw Pact war with NATO, where it would have attempted to prevent naval convoys from bringing reinforcements across the Atlantic Ocean...

 on June 16, 1950. It was an armed organization of the East German Ministry of the Interior designed to protect the German Democratic Republic’s (GDR) maritime border and coastal areas. The HVS was established to organize, train and operate naval forces during a period in which East Germany officially had no military. The Sea Police initially were responsible for protection of fisheries and for anti-smuggling activities. At the same time it was intended from the beginning to use the force as the core of a future East German navy. One of the first tasks of the Sea Police was the clearance of mines in the coastal waters of the GDR.

Organization

Headquartered at Berlin

Berlin

Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...

-Niederschöneweide, the Sea Police was led by Waldemar Verner

Waldemar Verner

Waldemar Verner was chief of the People's Navy of the National People's Army of the German Democratic Republic and brother of Paul Verner....

 and his Chief of Staff was Heinz Neukirchen

Heinz Neukirchen

Heinz Neukirchen was officer in the World War II Kriegsmarine, Vice Admiral in the People's Navy of the German Democratic Republic as well as President of the East German Directorate of Maritime and Port Industries...

. Assigned to the HVS were a minesweeper division, a coast guard ship division, a salvage command, schools, and a recruit training battalion. On July 27, 1950, the HVA assumed command of the newly formed Seehydrographischer Dienst (Sea Hydrographic Service] of the GDR. By the end of 1951, the organization had grown to around 3,000 men.

For political reasons it was a “police” organization in name only. All of its regulations and training procedures were modeled along navy lines. It's uniforms closely resembled those of the WWII German Kriegsmarine

Kriegsmarine

The Kriegsmarine was the name of the German Navy during the Nazi regime . It superseded the Kaiserliche Marine of World War I and the post-war Reichsmarine. The Kriegsmarine was one of three official branches of the Wehrmacht, the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany.The Kriegsmarine grew rapidly...

.

Personnel and Training

The Sea Police was organized with less experienced personnel because nearly two thirds of the members of the Kriegsmarine had been captured by British and American forces and had chosen to stay in the western occupations zones after their release from captivity. The HVA also deliberately wanted to avoid relying too much on former Kriegsmarine veterans. This is why training was at the forefront of the establishment of the Sea Police.

Establishment of the initial Seepolizeischule (See Police School) began in March 1950. It was located in Parow

Parow, Germany

Parow is a village a few miles north of Stralsund in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is part of the municipality Kramerhof. The German Navy's Engineering School is at Parow. It moved from Kiel in 2002. The Minentaucher train there....

 and was later named after its first leader, Walter Steffens. The school began operations on August 1, 1950. Eventually a school for seamen was established at Kühlungsborn

Kühlungsborn

Kühlungsborn is a Seebad town in the Rostock district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is situated on the Baltic Sea coast, 11 km northwest of Bad Doberan, and 25 km northwest of Rostock....

, a school for petty officers at Parow, and an officer training school at Stralsund

Stralsund

- Main sights :* The Brick Gothic historic centre is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.* The heart of the old town is the Old Market Square , with the Gothic Town Hall . Behind the town hall stands the imposing Nikolaikirche , built in 1270-1360...

, all on the Baltic Coast. This training provided the foundation of leaders for the future Volksmarine

Volksmarine

Volksmarine was the official designation of the maritime forces of the German Democratic Republic . It was part of the National People's Army, established in 1956.-History:...

 (People’s Navy).

Many Sea Police officers were sent to the Soviet Union

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

for advanced maritime training. By the end of 1954 at least fifty officers had received technical training in various naval schools in the Soviet Union.

Material and equipment

In May 1950, the Soviet armed forces gave the Sea Police six minesweepers that had previously belonged to the Kriegsmarine. Starting in 1951, more ships were supplied by shipyards in the Soviet Union and East Germany. For coastal patrols, the Sea Police received some 150 horses and motor vehicles.

Transition to the People's Police Sea

In April 1953 the Soviet leadership chose to establish a regular armed force in the GDR. On August 1, 1953, units of the Sea Police were restructured as the Volkspolizei See (VP-See) (People's Police-Sea) to create the foundation for an effective militarized maritime force. With the establishment of the National People’s Army (NVA), this became the Verwaltung Seestreitkräfte der NVA (Naval Forces Administration of the NVA) on March 1, 1956. And finally, in 1960, the naval forces received the honorary title Volksmarine (People’s Navy) which was also responsible for units operating as part of the Grenzbrigade Küste (Coastal Border Brigade).