ACTIVITY IN THE AREA OF MECHANIZED DIVISION POTSDAM

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00810A006000690009-4
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: December 21, 2016
• Document Release Date: May 22, 2008
• Sequence Number: 9
• Publication Date: January 27, 1955
• Content Type: REPORT

Approved For Release 2008/05/22 : CIA-RDP80-0081 OA006000690009-4
COU N]"KY _' .._." C r -`;ar.:.
;:ctivl ty in the Area of E'echanized Division PotS3#'.n;
EVALUATION
DATE OF CONTENT
DATE OBTAINED...._1
REFERENCES-.
PAGES 4
REMARKS_
.__ PLACE OBTAINED.
l._..._...._...DATE PREPARED___
ENCLOSURES (NO. & TYPE)--_._._ _ -
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1~'0 recruits arrived in the former
concertr'tion c-mp of (jr- :ienburg in early De(;eoii cr 1954. and
20 s^idiers were renssi ned to Dresden a-; the same tizv:e.
2. 110-ween 1 ? nd 10 December 1954, no AA guns ;ve_?e seen in the ., :rx?: c'c;:
~rsrd of the former c ncentration camp. A total oC CO r.:en v:cr: -ul i lv
eng^ ~ed in inf? ntry drill nrd tr? i.ning with 3 or t T-' 4s cuttel.;r 5M men
' er d ischarred after late Octobe`.:, but L~ ;hc vacancies
rev l e i. shed bar renlr cements by mid-December. ".1
the repl;.c
omc~ of
re -' ' efredly from Burg. Lore recruits e:re i.c3. to be expectr:d n
'.'eitru^r5. 1n15.1
4. On 27 December, Lieu r_: rt Colonel Klebsch (fr.u) . the :former
officer in the concentr, tion camp in Ora, ienbu.rg ccmman'er of the
mechcriized unit, s reassi: ned. The name of his successor could not.
be determined. The soidir:rs fr-?m Burg, who hat_, rece .ved a one tar
infantry trainL... - there, wore rrd collar patch es.1
5. During the last week in .ovemher, no try. fining activity Baas noti.ccd
in the former concentr')tion camp in Ors+r!ien'3urg. Some of thc' 3^, i Ci'! r rs
engaged i n construction ??ork. On 1 Dece tuber, carbine f irin^g wus, the-:rd
from the k?-serne. Fresh imprints of tank tracks :very seen in ti.e
~r ininr ar o Tort- of the kaserne. On 4 Decen:bee, no activity teas
noticed in the instp.llation. Soldiers "rith carbines end practice
tarr;ets red several other nroups at trainir. 7 '.kith prismatic compass
v-e'F seen in t1-e triining ar n e-st of Lehnit2 Lake.2
6. On ?December, soldiers entering and ieav;ng the ins'n'i;:tion Tore
b1.ut. r-ad b1,c'--bordered blue co' l or patches. tr ining activity
-as noticed. 17umerous officers and soldiers '^cre seen on their =a~
cr;in~ .^ It s
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 Approved For Release 2008/05/22 : CIA-RDP80-0081 OA006000690009-4
to :;own or to the ksserne. On 27 and 28 December, no trsining ^ctivity
",as noticed in the inHHtallation and in thrs vicinity. Thirty soldiers
with suitcases returner'. to the installation on 212 December.2
7. On 20 November, the following materiel wes seen in the General-lever
KFse:rne ir,ii, Potsdam: 9 S )U-100s, 12 x 57-mm AT guns, 24 two-axle
BA-E.4 arm,ored scout coo: s. aprroximatcly 25 sidecar motorcycles,
al proxir , :,l.d iers sere `-ved instruction. 01 29 December'" no treining s.otfvity
e ; no;iced. On ? January =, a pl .~-:on r.i th red-borderr d black epaulets
or ^ ticrd riri nit' on the r -nge at the 2ew Koeni Strasse T"'enty-four
~,o?Biggs enga:r`-ed -.n f,^,tigue dri I in the yard on Behlert Stresse. Raw
c -.no tructior_ work on thr building al: .W the no- Koenig Strasse end al-rng
lieh ert Str: since lac ?ta1 i or the signal batt'lion of 1`. cchanized Division
he?'dnunrters units. The reconnaissance bettelion is
-- d to b~-: o yipped -with more than 10 t..nks :,nd wit'.: only 6 or 7 AT
t is th t these elements r 1so include corponen is of
~s.prcial.ly since approximately 2C0 one : from he Ruin nberr
7?ere rand ?te c. tr- d to the General '.,'ever Kaserne. 25X1
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4. ~ 7.., , t. I ; appears that training ac- ivityr -^ith t''e Id ;;'ecz 25X1
-,o N,-, olt h.? 1f of Dhcen;Jer than with the other units.
in th E;u.i.r;e:aberg Kaserne has already :3tarted more intensively in
j, ~i1::arst, I' the vehicles "ere actually of GerrPar. make, the trucks 25X1
(".Jotred Lo br!1ori? t.0 the KVP. They were, ho-ever, not provided for
6. Con.- ant. The kA regiment in the Garde du Corps Kaseme appears 25X1
> r; .;t:rtcd --:c:ar ins training with recruits in err]y December.
.7 Co-er:t. `Ile `nstal.Intion referred to is the athletic orfj..ezr`
x it- 3 1 o: t h e K~r .
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 Approved For Release 2008/05/22 : CIA-RDP80-0081 OA006000690009-4
Com-?ent. I-; is unusual that the course in Klietz was held
over Christmas end New Year. It is rather believed that
the course 'vas started in early
7ar,var??~. The -.ank unit reported probably is the tr,,ining unit ?'?hich
r:ay have cotur either from Burg or Orarienburg.
G a : ivy The u ol?t-ar re6inie :t of $:`eez Div Potsdam, which has
17 7 ,'1 led ly Li i tenant Colc?':el 0Mt r 'Va'tersk rar. t
e ? d ~.n Pr(- nuzditz. In July 1954, cane Major Warner (fnu) was
P?' officer i-fh the 2d A?ecz Regt in Potsdam, olia I;nrtenint
;?r. - n,# (fru) , in 1953, ' ' i FdJ (Free Gerten Youth) secretary with
the ^d P::i cz Rogt in Brandenburg-Ilohenetuecken. It is possible, the t
ch-~r_'t cs if r,ersoanel err carri?d through in Premnitz.
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