Compulsory Border Protection Service: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 19:54, 19 October 2021

Revision as of 04:50, 12 March 2022

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{{Short description|Compulsory national service in Germany}}

{{refimprovemore citations needed|date=September 2018}}

{{conscription}}

The '''Compulsory Border Guard Service''' (German: ''Grenzschutzdienstpflicht'') was enacted by the [[Germany|German]] [[Bundestag|parliament]] in the Federal Border Protection Act of 18 August 1972, based on Article 12a of the [[Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany | German Constitution]].<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.bgbl.de/xaver/bgbl/start.xav?start=//*%5B@attr_id=%27bgbl169s0041.pdf%27%5D#__bgbl__%2F%2F*%5B%40attr_id%3D%27bgbl169s0041.pdf%27%5D__1542290943773 | title=Bundesgesetzblatt}}</ref> The remaining provisions of the Federal Border Protection Act were repealed in 1994.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.jurion.de/gesetze/bgsg/50/ | title=§ 50 BGSG, Beginn und Ende der Grenzschutzdienstpflicht | access-date=2018-11-15 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181116000909/https://www.jurion.de/gesetze/bgsg/50/ | archive-date=2018-11-16 | url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/bgsg/index.html | title=BGSG - nichtamtliches Inhaltsverzeichnis}}</ref> However, compulsory border guard service has not been enforced since 1973. Anyone who serves or served in the [[Bundesgrenzschutz|Federal Border Guard]] (German: ''Bundesgrenzschutz (BGS)'') can no longer be assigned to the [[military service]] (§ 42a Conscription Law) in the German [[Bundeswehr | Federal Armed Forces]] (German: ''Bundeswehr''). In 2005 the border guard was renamed the [[Federal Police (Germany) | Bundespolizei (BPOL)]] (Federal Police) and any mandatory service would be performed there.<ref>{{Cite book | url=https://books.google.com/?id=RcPPBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA57&lpg=PA57&dq=Grenzschutzdienstpflicht#v=onepage&q=Grenzschutzdienstpflicht&f=false | title=Rechtskunde — leicht verständlich| isbn=9783663130871| last1=Verheyen| first1=Josef| date=2013-11-11}}</ref><ref>http://dipbt.bundestag.de/doc/brd/1994/D840+94.pdf {{Bare URL PDF|date=March 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book | doi=10.1007/978-3-658-10928-8_9|chapter = Einführung der Grenzschutzdienstpflicht|title = Installation und Konsolidierung des Bundesgrenzschutzes 1949 bis 1972| pages=348–376|year = 2016|last1 = Parma|first1 = David| isbn=978-3-658-10927-1}}</ref>

== History ==

The implementation of compulsory border guard service has to be seen in a historical context. Until the 1980s the BGS was organized as a [[paramilitary]] force that could be deployed nationwide, either at the [[Inner German border | inner-German border]], but also elsewhere in case of [[civil disorder]]. Domestic military operations of any kind on the territory of [[West Germany]] were prohibited for the ''Bundeswehr'' at that time. The BGS used heavy military equipment and the officers were officially [[combatant | combatants]]s until 1994. Furthermore, the member states of the [[Warsaw Pact]] maintained a very large number of [[Internal Troops]], mainly staffed by conscript soldiers like the [[East Germany | East German]] [[Volkspolizei-Bereitschaft | Volkspolizei-Bereitschaften (VPB)]]. Interior troops were a considerable reinforcement of the [[infantry]] forces during the [[arms race]] of the [[Cold war]] period and were not affected by disarmament negotiations as they were not part of the regular military.

After the "[[German Emergency Acts]]" (German: ''Notstandsgesetze'') were enacted in 1968, the tasks of the BGS changed slowly. The military task was gradually reduced, because in a [[State of Defence (Germany) | State of Defence]] (German: ''Verteidigungsfall'' or ''V-Fall'') the ''Bundeswehr'' was and still is thereafter empowered in very limited circumstances to be deployed in domestic disturbances. Nevertheless, the BGS was equipped with light and medium infantry weapons until the mid-eighties and still, now nominated as ''Bundespolizei'' maintains [[Armouredarmoured personnel carrier | armoured personnel carriers]]s like the ''[[LAPV Enok]]'' or ''[[Mowag Eagle]]''.

== Drafting of Border Guards ==

Men at the age of eighteen, or older if they were former members of the Federal Police or if they had not previously served in the military or federal police, can be drafted to the border guard service. Mandatory service can be introduced if there are not enough volunteers joining the federal police. If the need is covered by volunteers at a later date, currently drafted persons are to be released. The employment status of the draftees is similar to the status during military service. The service is divided into border protection basic service, border protection exercises and perpetual border protection service in case of defense and in the cases mentioned in article 91 of the constitution. After their service has been completed, members are transferred to the border guard reserve.

== Current enforcement of the draft ==

Similar to the suspended [[Conscription in Germany | conscription]] for military service since 2011, the compulsory border guard service is legally paused since 1994, but can be reactivated anytime by a resolution of the parliament.

== See also ==

* [[Border guard | Border guards]]s

* [[Border guards of the inner German border]]

* [[Civil conscription]]

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[[Category:German federal agencies]]

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