Border Guards of the Third Reich

Monitoring who or what passes over a nation’s border has always been an important act for each country making up the diverse regions of Europe. During Adolf Hitler’s reign, the government of the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei (NSDAP — Nazi Party) worked ceaselessly to maintain order and control of the people and materials inside of the Reich. With overtly stringent laws in place, coming into or leaving Germany (and later their subjugated lands) was strictly controlled by the Zollgrenzschutz (border and custom guards) organization. During WWII, many escaped allied prisoners, Jewish fugitives, undocumented unfortunates and partisans were ruthlessly captured, imprisoned and sometimes murdered by these guardians of the Reich’s borders.

The original German custom and border guard