SECURITY IN THE SOVIET ARMY

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP82-00046R000400450002-6
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: September 18, 2009
• Sequence Number: 2
• Publication Date: February 28, 1955
• Content Type: REPORT

Approved For Release 2009/09/18: CIA-RDP82-00046R000400450002-6
REPORT INFORMATION INFORMATION REPORT
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
This material contains information affecting the National Defense of the United States within the meaning of the Espionage Laws, Title
18, U.S.C. Secs. 793 and 794, the transmission or revelation of which in any manner to an unauthorized person is prohibited by law.
COUNTRY East Germany
SUBJECT Security in the Soviet Army
DATE OF INFO.
PLACE ACQUIRED
DATE ACQUIRED
SOURCE EVALUATIONS ARE DEFINITIVE. APPRAISAL OF CONTENT IS TENTATIVE.
ARMY review completed.
REPORT
REFERENCES
28 February 1955
DATE DISTR.
NO. OF PAGES
AIR FBI AEC
(Note: Washington distribution indicated by "X'; Field distribution by
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CONFIDENTIAL
COUNTRY East Germany
SUBJECT Security in the Soviet Army
DATE OF INFORMATION
Unit Designations
THIS IS UNEVALUATED INFORMATION
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DATE DISTR. 25 Jan. 1955
NO. OF PAGES 3
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3.
(Officers had told ~ that, on special
occasions and parades, the battalion standard was unfurled; these
occasions and parades were February 23, May 1, and November 7. At
all other times, it was cased, kept at headquarters, with a sentry
guarding it at all times. Every 'chat"
had a standard with the
unit es gna on on it. The 10th Sep. Gd. Bn., because it was a
separate battalion, also had its own standard.
of providing the sentry for one post in the motor pool and one sentry
in its platoon area. Both of these sentries had a four-hour tour
starting at 2300 hours and ending at dawn. The motor pool was always
the responsibility,of the Motor Trans. Plat. During the night, there
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the Motor Trans. Plat., shared guard duty with the'
companies In thebattalion. It also had the permanent responsibility
Security Duties
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were two sentries at the battalion headquarters building. One guarded
the battalion standard and the other guarded the building entrance.
During the day, there was one sentry on duty at the battalion standard
and, occasionally, one at the building entrance; at night, there was 25X1
also one sentry at the food-storage warehouse. When entering the
battalion area, all EM were required to produce their service book
as a form of identi, ioatio - .
Within the oaserne area there were approximately 21 regularly-employed
Foreign Nationals 25X1
nationals. One of these nationals was the post plumber 25X1
an remainder oat Department Store ('nivermag) ? 25X1
did not know the names of any foreign nationals that worked 25X1
ti caserne and claimed that the only foreign nationals who could
enter the compound area were those employed there regularly. At the
gate, a guard checked identity documents of the foreign nationals
against a master list of names that he kept before he allowed entry.
The guard also took any documents they had and kept 25X1
them until the individual left the compound.
possibly had a special pass for identification
6. Twice, brought a ational into the caserne area to repair25X1
the refrigerator in the warehouse. The guard stopped both at the
gate and called the OD by telephone to request permission for the man
to enter the area; this permission was granted over the phone. The
second time the same man was brought in, the sentry let him through
without phoning for permission.' 25X1
Military Intelligence Activties
8.
did not know if MVD officers or EM could arrest Soviet Army personnel.
Censorship 25X1
9. never saw any uniformed MVD personnel outside the USSR. 25X1
10. Mail to and from the USSR and betweeh military!personnel'in:oebupied
ef"eas ;cab ,t cat Tobtrlotsl~ r censored: A.nd;E- )didcnbt -believe i that', there 25X1
was any otual,, ,1-y . alb ensdr~hi , ,The Jt n ini,his ju iitc>had'beets ?bold
that,they Weire~, dOni to (wrictei h me l:abdutL the 10cat~4on, i_ei e3 { and i' 25X1
11.
case onally, 0 had seen individuals in Potsdam dressed in civilian 25X1
clothes who he described as "looking like Russians." thought 25X1
they were M personnel but had no basis for this assumption. 25X1
ra:uy,uIVUua;. Uu 4,r1.Lre)aaniV! ouTVy ~.n.: sp4~ie1^~dv~:;~CI )19 otnei'I 25X1
wrote;: such oinfol cation home and nothing ever,, came of it.
delivered and, a few weeks later, it was returned with 25X1
firm which was accepted by the. talion mail clerk-but-it was un-
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or to receive mail from them. had written a letter to a 25X1
it was forbidden to write
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cancellation marks on the envelope,i1.' apparently unopened.
Photos
12. Troops were allowed to have cameras and were permitted to take pic-
tures within the caserne area itself. They were told on- one or two
occasions by battalion officers not to take pictures of any of the
equipment, but this was nctenforced. They were permitted to photo-
graph tanks and trucks as long as the vehicle numbers were not visible in
the photegrtph.i. 25X1
i Film and 25X1
supplies for prooe'ssinp; and printing were'sola in the P?st Department
Store. Many of.. the men purchased these supplies and.. pro,o0,0 d:.#;heir filth
in the billets;.,other men. took their _ film for-.processing to~stored.
Komendatura Patrols
13. had not been in a Komendatura in the Soviet Zone
14.
id not know the location of any, and could give no information
on
Documents Section
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no documents section within 0 unit but knew that a 25X1
platoon was assigned to drive an officer and a guard 25X1
and pick-up documents. A sedan was used for this purpose
Civilian Clothing and Covert Mission Vehicles
15. Many times in the club of the CI Administration, while watching a
motion pictur saw Soviets wearing, 25X1'5X1
the blue and OD "uniforift Of' the .German Peoples'-Police (Volkbpol1ei)
0 heard them speaking in good Russian and saw them drive away in 25X1
BMW cars 25X1
16. In the CI Administration garaged saw many sedans of various
colors. These sedans had either Soviet or plates on the
rear of the vehicle. Most of these vehicles carried as many as
10 different plates all of which were kept in the car- these plates
were easily changed during the course of a trip, used one
of these vehicles occasionally, to take the acting Bn. CO on fishing
trips and, during the course of the journey, was asked to change
the plates several times. This was done very easily and was just
a matter of clipping the new plate over the old one.
3.
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J that a repair-
could go out and
and the man was paid for his work by the battalion.
Comment: The Bn. Supply Officer told
man was needed for the refrigerator and tha
get one. able to select a repai
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t
Approved For Release 2009/09/18: CIA-RDP82-00046R000400450002-6