Volkspolizei-Bereitschaft

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Volkspolizei-Bereitschaft
Insignia of the Volkspolizei-Bereitschaft
Active	April 1955 – October 1990
Country	German Democratic Republic
Size	12,000–15,000
Part of	Volkspolizei
Garrison/HQ	East Berlin

The Volkspolizei-Bereitschaften^[1] (VPB, German for "People's Police Alert Units", sometimes known as "Barracked People’s Police" or "Alert Police"^[2]) was the paramilitary police force of the Volkspolizei of the German Democratic Republic The VPB were organized as Internal Troops like in many Warsaw Pact countries and served as a riot police and gendarmerie-like force. The VPB functioned as the de facto armed branch of the Ministry for State Security (Stasi). Though considered part of the armed forces, the VPB was never part of the National People's Army or the Ministry of National Defence, instead under the Ministry of the Interior.