The '' Volkspolizei '' was effectively founded in June 1945 when the Soviet Military Administration in Germany ( SVAG ) established central police forces in the regions of Nazi Germany it occupied following after World War II , despite being in violation of the agreements at the Yalta Conference and the Potsdam Conference . The SVAG approved the arming of community-level police forces on 31 October 1945 , but nevertheless remained a non-militarised force , and by 1946 the '' Volkspolizei '' comprised some 22,000 personnel . The police force experienced several challenges at this time : the proportion of non-trained personnel between 65 and 95 % undermined its professionalism and turnover rates of personnel were initially as high as 50 % , affecting the stability of the workforce . By 1948 , '' Volkspolizei '' membership had increased to approximately 65,000 , but there were still issues of political unreliability and insufficient professional aptitude , which prompted a purge of 10,000 from the force in 1949 ; as a consequence , 86 % of its membership were now members of the ruling Socialist Unity Party of Germany . It was formally referred to as the '' Deutsche Volkspolizei '' ( " German People 's Police " ) from May 1949 onward , three months before the GDR 's founding . With the founding of the GDR in 1949 , the Volkspolizei was subordinated to the Ministry of the Interior . The Volkspolizei was divided into various individual branches and specialised forces : In addition to these units , the Volkspolizei also comprised the paramilitary Kasernierte Volkspolizei ( KVP , people 's police in barracks ) , from which the National People 's Army ( NVA ) was formed in 1956 . Following this , the Volkspolizei-Bereitschaft became the main paramilitary riot and anti-insurgency unit in the GDR
Yalta Conference
Yalta Conference
Volkspolizei