Grenzschutzgruppe 9
| Border Protection Group 9 | |
|---|---|
| Grenzschutzgruppe 9 | |
GSG 9 badge
|
|
| Active | 17 April 1973 - present |
| Country |
 Germany
|
| Branch | Federal Police |
| Type | Police Tactical Unit |
| Role |
Counter-terrorism Law enforcement |
| Size | c. 400 operators |
| Garrison/HQ | Sankt Augustin-Hangelar near Bonn |
| Engagements |
Lufthansa Flight 181 Arrest of Birgit Hogefeld and Wolfgang Grams |
| Website | Official website |
| Commanders | |
| Current commander |
Jerome Fuchs |
| Notable commanders |
Ulrich Wegener first commander |
| Insignia | |
| Abbreviation | GSG 9 |
Grenzschutzgruppe 9 (GSG 9) (English: Border Protection Group 9) is the elite Police Tactical Unit of the German Federal Police (German: Bundespolizei). GSG 9 counterparts on the state level are the Special Deployment Commandos (German: Spezialeinsatzkommandos (SEK)).
On September 5, 1972, the Palestinian terrorist movement Black September infiltrated the Summer Olympic Games in Munich, West Germany, to kidnap 11 Israeli athletes, killing two in the Olympic Village in the initial assault on the athletes' rooms. The incident culminated when German police, who were not trained or equipped for counter-terrorism operations, underestimated the number of terrorists involved, attempted to rescue the athletes. Police did not have a specialized tactical sniper team at that time. The army had snipers, but the German Constitution did not allow the use of German Armed Forces on German soil during peacetime.
The police rescue failed, and the operation led to the deaths of one policeman, five of the eight kidnappers and all of the remaining nine hostages.
As a consequence of the mismanagement of the Olympic tragedy, the West German government created the GSG 9 under the leadership of then Oberstleutnant Ulrich Wegener so that similar situations in the future could be responded to adequately and professionally. Many German politicians opposed its formation, fearing GSG 9 would rekindle memories of the Nazi Party's Schutzstaffel (SS). The decision was taken to form the unit from police forces, as opposed to from the military, like the equivalent forces in other countries, on the ground that German federal law expressly forbids the use of the military forces against the civilian population. Composing the special force from police personnel would avoid that. The unit was officially established on April 17, 1973 as a part of Germany's federal police agency, the Bundesgrenzschutz (Federal Border Guard Service, renamed Bundespolizei or Federal Police in 2005).
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Wikipedia