The KdA served as the "de facto" militia of the ruling Socialist Unity Party of Germany composed of party members and politically reliable working people, based on dictatorship of the proletariat principles, to be deployed locally to fight civil unrest or invasion. The KdA was a civil reserve force tied to the GDR's Ministry of the Interior and the "Volkspolizei", reaching 211,000 personnel at its peak in 1980. The KdA was disbanded by the "Volkskammer" after the opening of the Berlin Wall in November 1989.