Grepo
Encyclopedia
Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall was a barrier constructed by the German Democratic Republic starting on 13 August 1961, that completely cut off West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and from East Berlin...
, but can be used to refer to other border police, such as the former Bayerische Grenzpolizei (Bavarian Border Police
Bavarian Border Police
The Bavarian Border Police is an historic police division within the Bavarian State Police . It was the third arm of the police force alongside the state police and the so-called 'readiness police' It existed from 1946 to 1998 and was responsible for the federal borders in Bavaria.In 1945 the...
), and the separate Bundesgrenzschutz
Bundesgrenzschutz
Bundesgrenzschutz was the first federal police organization in Western Germany after World War II permitted by the Allied occupation authorities. In July 2005, the BGS was renamed Bundespolizei to reflect its transition to a multi-faceted police agency.It was established in 1951...
("Federal Border Guard", now part of the Bundespolizei "Federal Police")
Grepo in English language fiction
The word Grepo has been used in many Cold WarCold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
spy novels
Spy fiction
Spy fiction, literature concerning the forms of espionage, was a sub-genre derived from the novel during the nineteenth century, which then evolved into a discrete genre before the First World War , when governments established modern intelligence agencies in the early twentieth century...
. Possibly the first use was by Len Deighton
Len Deighton
Leonard Cyril Deighton is a British military historian, cookery writer, and novelist. He is perhaps most famous for his spy novel The IPCRESS File, which was made into a film starring Michael Caine....
in his 1964 book Funeral in Berlin.
Similar terms
The related term Vopo (VolkspolizeiVolkspolizei
The Volkspolizei , or VP, were the national police of the German Democratic Republic . The Volkspolizei were responsible for most law enforcement in East Germany, but its organisation and structure were such that it could be considered a paramilitary force as well...
) has also been used in English fiction. The abbreviation for the criminal police—Kripo
Kriminalpolizei
is the standard term for the criminal investigation agency within the police forces of Germany, Austria and the German-speaking cantons of Switzerland. In Nazi Germany during 1936, the Kripo became the Criminal Police Department for the entire Reich...
—is less common in English texts.
External links
- "Clamor in the East; Berlin Border Guards Stunned by the News"—New York TimesThe New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
article of November 10, 1989, reporting border police's reaction to free travel