MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION ON THE EAST GERMAN TELECOMMUNICATIONS INDUSTRY

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00810A004500250009-9
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 9
• Document Creation Date: December 20, 2016
• Document Release Date: June 1, 2007
• Sequence Number: 9
• Publication Date: August 30, 1954
• Content Type: REPORT

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COUWRY East Germany
This material contains information aftectiug the Nr.
tionalDefense of the United States within the n1e,.n-
ing of the Espionage Laws. Title 18, 0.0-C recs. 713
and 794, the transmission or revelation of which in
any ma;ner to an unauthorized person is prohibited
by law,
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SEC T/COUT 0L U. a OFFICIALS ONLY
SUBJECT Miscellaneous, Information on t "East
German Teleoommunicatiolls Ixlc'us:,.
DATE,OF INFO.
PLACE ACQUIRE(
(FOR KEY SEE REVERSE)
F^ Tfie d Zi& j u . Flarl'i n
~ h ;? a ~ Thie c et a].' : hment is situated at Berlin 017, Wareehauer
Platz 9-10, and until recently belonged to the V.V.B. Organization
(VereiniE,ung Volksei ier Betr l be) with heed.qur,rter& at, Leipz:i i
s however, been c :i.,.,solver'. rifle. the various; VEI?'s
(Volkaeigene f3etr3.ebe) are now directly responsible to their respective
Government Ministriees iii this case the Ministerium.fuer Naschinenbau
(Ministry for, I.Irchi_ne Construction) As of 1 November 1953, the
department for Transmission Equipment (Ueb) was divided into the following
three sections:
(1) U.S. - Uhren,und Si ;nal-Anlai,-an (clock and alarm equipment)
(2) E.L.A. El:.ektroakustik (electroacoustics)
(3) W.V. Weitverkehr (trunk transmission equipment),
Since 1 January 1954, Fernmelde-_nlagenbau Berlin has incorporated the
former'V,E.B. Funk-und SignalanleLgen, and the organizational chart has,
therefore, changed.COn$iderablyo- According to source,.the organizational
structure was never ot>astant -, it was continually being altered to fit
the internal struggle for power, so that the extent of responsil-ility
of the various departm tal and :sectional beads frequently increased
or decreased.
b. Funct ons_of F'erelse"=A -1aZerib uo _EtLj B- This establishment c~oes not
___ -~ IS rF no7 i.k for the t s^er;bl y nd
itself manufacture equipment, but
wiring of equipment obtained .;:Term other fac l o ?z.c exchange selectors,
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DATE DISTR. 30 lu,ust 1954
NO. OF PAGES 9
REQUIREMENT NO. RD
REFERENCES
THE SOURCE EVALUATIONS IN THIS'REPORT ARE DEFINITIVE.
THE APPRAISAL OF CONTENT IS TENTATIVE.
Mai il~-. 1 r 0,40 N, 250009-9
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switchboards, repeaters, into completed apparatus racks or bays for
installation as complete exchanges or repeater stations or for ex-
tensions to existing installations. In many cases, they carry out the
installation and testing work on site read- for handing over to the
customer in operating corclition, ;'3.o jects in the following
categorie~; arE; undertakcrn :; cr whole of the Soviet
zone:
(1) Planning and construction of telephone trunk transmission systems
for the Deutsche Post, the Seepolizei, and the Ministry of the
Interior.
(2) Design and construction of interpreters' installations for confer-
ences. These have also been exported.
(3)
(4)
(5)
Construction of ^1.ec1 roacou 7 t +.^] JE tion;,; e; g. public address
system:, ' ,r use in- oyzt:_of-.d.oo~?s ;
Design of trunk exchange,, and local automatic exchanges. Construction
and installation outside Berlin is carried out by local establishments
of the same designation.
Additional projects following the incorporation of V.E.B. Funk- and
Signalanlagena
2. General Notes on the Telecommunications Industry in East Germany
a. Developments since 1950: Following a ministerial decision to increase
the facilities available for new subscribers in East Berlin, Exchange 20
on Franzoesischestrasse was set up in 1951 for 3,000 subscribers. As no
East German industry was at the time capable of undertakin such a
contract. construction nnd instnlIA+.inn wno, nnrriari rnit. hir 25X1
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the men r ir change
equipment trunk 25X1
switchboar as Type . , anc toil positions. The trunk Switchboards were
installed mostly in the Soviet Z.:ne, in particular for the new trunk
exchanges at Magdeburg and Leipzig, The toll positions, 50 in all, were
used for the new toll exchange on Wilhelmstrasse, Berlin, at which ex-
change it is shortly intended to introduce dialling facilities over
junctions., Manufacture of components for the 5O-.ayitom,'e.g. relays,
condensers, resistors, etc.' was begun, Pnd in 1.951 the first exchange
was installed at the Soviet Embassy, Barlin, Unter den Linden, Development
was facilitated by the availability at Arnstadt of a complete set of
Siemens-Halske tools, although the selectors supplied for the Soviet Embassy
project had subsequently to be changed. This project was fnllnwed by
Wilhelmstrasse Exchange 22, equipped for 10,000 subscribere'lines. The
exchange equipment constructed by the Arnstadt plant has so far given good
service, without too many faults. VEB Fornmeldewerk Arnstadt, together
with the former Graetz factory Berlin-Treptow, Elsenstrasse,l and TBN
(Technisches Buero fuer Nachrichterunittel, formerly Knorrbremse)2 has
also produced several types of private automatic exchanges. Installations
were supplied by the latter firm to the German Mission in Moscow, to
China, Bulgaria, Hungaryyand Czechoslovakia, but have all been so un-
satisfactory that they have had to be changed.
b. Present condition:,: The East German telecommunications industry, as of March 1954,
i~l hr. zldicr.nnr..c~ by the fo?1 owing:
(1) Politicaal inffluonco:s. 1:~rrw% senior posts are of a political
nature only cns_ can on.1 y finder oroc Action rather than assist it.
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(2) Too much planning and too little execution,
(3) Shortage of materials.
The warehouses belonging to VEB establishments are not permitted to
hold materials for more than a two months? requirement. Supply
bottlenecks are continuous. For instance, the procurement of such
commonly required items as secondary cells, tag blocks, solder,
switchboard cable, jumper wire,and fanning strips is a matter
requiring endless negotiations and special measures, as a result of
which installation works on site are continually leing held up.
In a completely unrealistic attempt to eliminate such setbacks, and
probably in an attempt to hide the shortcomings of the organization
from the pub-1 is eye, a contree.c t sys'tei.r h tahen over .:rod.uction of the
universal repeater (Allverstaerker) devel.opec' oriuinally
by AEG. Leliveries are to the Postal Ministry and. for
mobile repeater stations constructed for Poland. (See
paragraph 8 below.) Althou< h delays have occurred in
production because of the above described i'aterial short-
ages, this equipment has proved successful in use.
3. Principal Pro:iert
as Completion of Nordkabel Schema (Berlin-Stralsund Carrier Cables) 1953.6
b. Completion of Suedstrecke (Berlin-Leipzig carrier system) 1953. See
paragraph 12 below,
c. Installation of 22-Exchange, Berlin, Wilhelmstrasse 66. Equipped
for 10,000 lines, Completed 1952,
d. Installation of 48-Exchange, Berlin-Pankow, Berlinerstrasse 12.
Equipped for 9,000 lines. 1952-1953,
e. Installation of 53-Exchange, Berlin, Palisadenstrasso 90. Equipped
for 6,000 lines. 1952-1953,
f. Installation of 53-Exchange, Perlin, Boxhogenerstrasse 111. Equipped
for 5,000 lines, completed 1953.
g. Installation of 641-Exchange, Berlin-Adlershof, Roonstrasse 1. Equipped
for 2,000 lines, completed 1953.
h. Installation of 646-Exchange, Berlin-Friedrichshagen, Friedrichstrasse 69a.
Equipped for 4,000 lines, completed 1953..
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i. Extension of 63/64 Exchange, Berlin-Niederschoeneweide, Fernstrasse
9-ll,from 4,000 to 8,000 lines capacity. Completed 1953. An additional
500-pair junction cable is being laid from this exchange to Lichtenberg.
j, Extension of 20-Exchange, Berlin,Franzoesischestrasse 33csfrom 3,000
to 4,200 lines capacity. Completed 1953.
k. Installation of Staaken exchange. Equipped for 1,000 lines. It has
subsequently been decided to dismantle this exchange.
1. Installation of 649-Exchange, Wilhelmshagen, Fuerstenwalder Allee
1082-4. Equipped for 1,000 lines. Completed end of 1952..
m, Installation of 638-Exchange, Berlin-Gruenau, Wassersport Allee 24.
Equipped for 2,200 lines. Completed 1953,
n. Installation of 44-Exchange, Bernauer Straose. Equipped for 5,000 lines.
Completed 1953.
o. Installation of Strausberg Exchange. Equipped for 400 (sic) lines,1950-51.
p. Installation of Schnellamt (toll exchange), Berlin, Wilhelmstrasse.
Equipped with 60 positions. 1951-1952.
Installation of 20 private automatic branch exchanges of capacities from
200-300 extensions for various authorities and commercial concerns.
1951-1953.
r. Complete installation of telephones, clocks, alarms,etc. at the television
bureau at Adlershof, 1953-1954,
s. Equipment of new Y:uildings in Stalin Allee with private automatic branch
exchanges, bells, door-openers, eto.,1953.
t. Complete equipment for the soviet 1iamabaeey extension building, Untor den
Linden, with telephones, bells, illu.minatod indicators, fire alarms, etc.
Completed 1954. Equipment for the first phase of this building was also
installed by Fernmelde-Anlagenbau, Berlin. The telephone installation
consists of a 200-line P.A.B.X. (private automatic branch exchange), 25X1
serving both the Embassy and the Trade Mission. Outgoing calls from
the Trade Mission are routed through an operator, but the Embassy has
the facility of direct dialling into the public network. All incomin
calls are routed through an operator. 25X1
u. Complete equipment for the new Broadcasting House (opposite the Klingenberg
Power Station) with telephones, clocks, fire alarms, etc. Assistance was
also given with the broadcasting installations. Completed 1953.
v. Installation work at various repeater stations in East Germany, such
as Leipzig and Erfurt,
w. Installation of private automatic branch exchange for 400 lines at the
Ministry of the Interior, Fernstrasse, 1953-1954.
4. Berlin-Wilhelmstrasse and Berlin-Lichtenberg Projects
a. Present functions of Wilhelmstrasse: (March 1954)
(1)
Schnellamt (no-delay exchange) giving "on demand" connection to
various exchanges in East Germany.
(2) Intermediate carrier repeater station on the Berlin-Stralsund route.
(3) Automatic exchange 22 (See paragraph 3 (c) above.).
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b, Present functions at Lichtenberg:
German trunk exchange
German repeater station
Soviet trunk exchange
Soviet repeater station
Automatic exchange 55/59.
C. Alterations r~lanned or begun:
(1)
A considerable extension to the Wilhelmstrasse building was planned,
with the intention of replacing the Lichtenberg German trunk ex-
change by a new 200-position exchange at Wilhelmstrasse. Building
operations proceeded as far as the ground level, when they
were stopped coincic'ent with the beginning of the Four-Power
Conference, The same plan included transfer of the Lichtenberg
Soviet Trunk Exchange to Karlshorst, but this has likewise been
shelved,
(2) By removal of voice frequency telex--raph equipment at Lichtenberg
to a neighboring building, it is now intended to make room for
extension of the German trunk exchange, The Soviet exchange
will remain where it is for the present,
5. Nordkabel Schema (Berlin-Stralsund carrier route)
a, The original plan to terminate the cables from Stralsund at or near
Schildow and extend the carrier systems into Berlin over unloaded
pairs in existing junction (Bezirk) (Bzk) cables was not carried out.?
b. Each circuit was equipped with two MES systems, giving up to 16 channels;
these were to be replaced by V12 systems, Up to the date of this report,
however, the ME8 was still being used,
c. Each terminal consists of two ME8 sets connected in tandem for 4-wire
operation; transmitting and receiving signals travel over separate
cables in such a way that the whole frequency range between 6 and
60 kcs is available for both transmitting and receiving. Hence, it
is possible to work up to 16 channels per system.
d. The following terms are used:
Z8 - 8-channel operation over one pair
V16 - 16-channel operation ovor two pairs
V1 .- 111-chanr:el onerf%'r iov, ~~w!r l?,wo rrr~.';ing, it po~,;:,;lhl.e t'o 1. it crt
TI-278 - (prof ably :,huul.( rear: !~L-Lic.n;!ilci unkr) - audio frequency
engineering control c.1_rcu:t.?l, which is route' , over a phantom,
e. Both the Berlin-Stralsund and the Suedstrecke routes employ V12
intermediate repeaters,
6. Direktions-Fernsprechanlage
(Telephone installation for senior officials). This equipment is manufactured
by the Technisches Duero fuer Nachrichtenmittel, Berlin 0112, Neue Bahnhofstrasse 9/10.
High functionaries of the SED in Berlin have had this equipment installed in
their offices,
7. Wismut' A,G, Communications,
By order of the Russians, a new unloaded cable was laid and completed at the
end of 1952 between the Wi,3mut' A. G, exc}' age at Siegmar-Schoenau and Chemnitz
repeater station. An MG 15 carrier syste as been set up between the Leipzig
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re )E ,' 1.: 1 S j,' L1011 t nC C ~,`i ll"? %Choenal.l, the ." ystei'i I C i '! no Itr_, V b a9 Postal
l LstT'y c!'I _ cC 11'I:.iiowr by source, but nra tilt biy LFKL491 between
Lt_ ,:.n! C';uirni.tz c: the new cable froi. Chen, nltz to 3icgL:a - choenau. Postal
I iris-try ~:cchnician; :eeintr;in the Iei.pzicq terminal; the system is
operated 4-wire,
8, Mobile Repeater Stations supplied to Poland
a. A total of 31 vehicles have been equipped by Fer-nmelde-Anlagenbau
Berlin with repeater end power equipment and supplied to the Polish Post
Office through D,I,A, (Deutscha Innen-und A?:^ },.rdel) for the use of
the Polish Army.
Acceptance tests were carried ou-u oy the Polish Post
Office, which will also be responsible for their maintenance.
b, Deliver,- was carried out in four phases, beginning at the end of 1952,
as follows:
(1) Two sets of two audio frequency repeater vehicles + one diesel veh.icle = 6
(2) Three sets of two sudio frequency repeater vehicles + one diesel vehicle = 9
(3) Five sets of two audio freciuenc; repeater vehicle., -t one diesel w 15
(L,.) One sample vehicle equipped ,,i_l h carrier apparatus.
c. Audio Frec_ _~uP ,~v_Vehzr"1 Each mobile repeater station consists of two
four-wheeled trailers doentically equipped and one power trailer con-
sisting of a 15 KVA diesel engine-driven --enerator mounted on two
wheels. Current is generated at 22C/380 volts, The trailers are
fitted with double wheels, front and rear', and are specially constructed
for movement over rough ground, They have a carrying capacity of 3.2
German tons each and were built by VEB Lowa Waggonbau Werdau. The
repeaters are of the A11ver:ierker II type (universal repeaters),
suitable for either two-or four-wire workin:;, A drum of cable for
connection to an exchange is included with each repeater trailer and
all equipment is ma i ns-operated . The repeater equipment was manufactured
by VEB Funkwerk Koelleda, So far ac:, was known, tractors for these vehicles
were not supplied by a German manufacturer,
d . C "er Vehicle.; These vehicles are equipped with two M sets capable of
operating 16 channels ever a four-wire circuit? Power is obtained from
a diesel-engine-driven generator house(] in the same vehicle, but which is
brought out when required for operation,
9. Developments in automatic tele p-
a. It is intended to install a 1,000-line automatic exchange with motor-
driven selectors at Erkner, near Berlin,
b. V,F, (voice frequency) dialling is to be employed on trunk circuits.
10. B.A.S.A. (Bahnselbstanschluss-An a e sstem, A new exchange in the Mark-
grafendamm, near Berlin-Ostkreuz station, is due for completion in March 1954.
11. East German Mission in Moscow, Fernmelde-Anlagenbau Berlin is installing a
100-line private automatic exchange in the Mission headquarters.
12. Carrier Telephony Systems for the Public Service,
ae Berlin-Leipzig (Suedstrecke), These systems were set up and completed
at the end of 1952 in conjunction with the planned transfer of the East
German government from Berlin to Leipzig, which so far has not materialized.
Two systems are in operation, each consisting of two ME8 sets in tandem,
giving 16 channels per system, together with V12 amplifiers at inter-
mediate repeater stations. Transmission is over de-loaded pairs in
various trunk cables, The terminals are at the Berlin-Lichtenberg and
Leipzig repeater stations and the inter-iediate repeater stations are as follows:
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(1) Gross--Beeren carrier repeater station. This is an existing station
situated on the route of Fk 150 , 151 and 153.
(2) Michendorf. Equipment installed in the top story of the post office.
(3) Treuenbrietzen. Existing repeater station.
(4) Eutzsch. Equipment installed in a farmhouse, The repeater station
consists of two rooms, one for the repeater equipment and the other
for the batteries. It is planned to install a diesel-engine-driven
generator in an outbuilding as reserve against mains failure.
(5) Bitterfeld, Existing repeater station. 25X1
b. Leipzig-Dresden and Leipzie Erfurt. As soon as Leipzig became the sole
East German switching center for interzonal calls, carrier systems MG 15
were set up during 1952-1953 over these routes in order to relieve con- 25X1
gestion. The systems are routed over cables, the Dresden g
via Wurzen and Oschatz,
these would appear to be FAIS and FK11
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1o Sicherungswesen (EAW) was listed at Berlin-Treptow, E lsenstrasse 90-96.
2, Comment: Currently called VEB ' Wissenschaftlich-Technisches
Buero uer Geraetebau (WTBG); prior to January 19>4, this plant was 25X1
called NTB-3 of SAG Kabel, It is at Berlin-Lichtenberg, Neue Bahn-
hofstrasse 9-i1o
3, Comm nit: Deutsche Telephonwerke and Kabelindustrie AG,
4, Comment: Quantities and the state of production are not
known,
6,
501
Comme t: Allgemeine_Elektricitaets-Gesellschaft,
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Comment: As of 1 January 1954, VEB Werk fuer Signal-und
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