Sbor národní bezpečnosti

The Sbor národní bezpečnosti (SNB, in Slovak: Zbor národnej bezpečnosti, ZNB), or National Security Corps, was the national police in Czechoslovakia from 1945 to 1991.

At the end of World War II, on April 4, 1945, Edvard Beneš headed the first postwar government at Košice, dominated by the three socialist parties, including the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (KSČ). The SNB was established by the coalition government as part of the Ministry of the Interior during a meeting in Košice on April 17, replacing the traditional police and gendarmes. Control of the Ministry of Interior was sought and obtained by the KSČ, whose Václav Nosek was appointed minister and began converting the security forces into arms of the party. Between 1945 and 1948, anti-Communist police officials and officers were fired, non-Communist personnel were encouraged to join the KSČ, and all were subjected to Communist indoctrination. Nosek's replacement of the upper police hierarchy with Communists caused the protest resignation of anti-Communist government ministers in February 1948, leading to the Czechoslovak coup d'etat of 1948. When the coup took place, Nosek's Communist-dominated security forces ensured an easy takeover. The SNB was abolished and replaced by the Czech Police on July 15, 1991, after the changes that followed the Velvet Revolution of 1989 in which the SNB attempted to suppress the demonstrating students.

The SNB consisted of two separate organizations - the VB (Veřejná bezpečnost) or Public Security, and the StB (Státní bezpečnost), or State Security. Public Security was the uniformed force that performed routine police duties throughout the country. State Security, the secret police, was a plainclothes force, also nationwide, that is at once an investigative agency, an intelligence agency, and a counterintelligence agency. Any activity that could possibly be considered antistate fell under the purview of State Security. In mid-1987, strength figures for the SNB were not available. A 1982 article in the Czechoslovak press indicated that 75 percent of the SNB members were either members or candidate members of the KSČ and that 60 percent were under 30 years of age. In 1986 about 80 percent of the SNB members in Slovakia came from worker or farmer families.^[1]

The SNB was an armed force, organized and trained as such but equipped to perform police rather than military functions. Its members were subject to military discipline and were under the jurisdiction of military courts. Ranks in the SNB correspond to equivalent levels in the Czechoslovak People's Army. As of 1987 the SNB was a volunteer service, although the conscription system was apparently used to rebuild the force after the loss of personnel at the end of the Dubček period. Citizens having the requisite physical and educational qualifications could apply for direct appointment to the SNB. Qualifications included completion of the compulsory nine years of schooling and of the basic conscript tour in the armed forces; higher education was required of those seeking appointment to higher level positions, for example, scientific, technical, and investigative positions. The Ministry of Interior operated its own higher level educational institute, which trained security personnel at different stages of their careers. The Advanced School of the National Security Corps, which occupied a large complex of buildings in Prague, granted academic degrees to the SNB and the Border Guard, also under the Ministry of Interior.^[2]

Public Security performs routine police functions at all levels from federal to local. In 1987 it was reported to be a relatively small force for the extent of its responsibility, but it was augmented by volunteer auxiliary units. Articles in the Slovak press in the mid-1980s referred to 27,000 auxiliary guards in 3,372 units assisting Public Security in Slovakia alone. No figure was available for the number of auxiliary guards and the number of guard units in the Czech lands, but it is reasonable to assume that these numbers would be at least double that reported for Slovakia. The federal minister of interior controlled other forces that could be ordered to assist Public Security if needed, and he could also request further help from the military.^[3]

In mid-1987, the olive-drab uniform of Public Security was almost identical to the ČSLA uniform, but had red shoulder boards and red trimming on hats distinguished Public Security personnel from military. Public Security vehicles were yellow and white. The initials VB appeared on the sides, front, and rear of police vehicles.^[4]

Public Security and State Security units were deployed throughout the country and had headquarters at regional and district levels; there were 10 regions and 114 districts in 1987. Public Security forces also established sections in rural areas. Both forces were under the ostensible supervision of the ministries of interior of the Czech and Slovak socialists republics. However, there seemed to be no question that operational direction of the security forces emanated from the Ministry of Interior at the federal level and that the two ministries of the component republics had administrative rather than supervisory functions.^[5]

A very popular crime series, based mostly on true stories (presented with a political spin), was made in the 1970s, called Thirty Cases of Major Zeman („Třicet případů majora Zemana“). The TV series is still popular to this day and even has its own fanclub.^[6] Other series were made in Czechoslovakia, e.g. Malý pitaval z velkého města.

Cases of significance during the existence of the SNB:

Franz Nowotny (Kilian) - the "King of Sumava", a CIC agent, shot but escaped to Bavaria in 1950
Hubert Pilčík - committed suicide in a prison
Václav Mrázek - mass murderer
Olga Hepnarová - mass murderer, convicted of public endangerment and hanged in 1975.

References

This article incorporates public domain material from the Library of Congress Country Studies website http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/.

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