The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1895-12-08
THE GERMAN POLICE
VARIED DUTIES AND A MILITARY
SEVERITY OF SYSTEM ExACTED.
Foreigners Investigated Closely and
Regarded with suspicion-A su-
pervfsion of Servants.



tween him and the police. After his land
lady and innkeeper. the policeman is his
very next acquaintance and twenty-four
hours after he has set foot ia the coun-
try, IL he puts up at hotel, and within
week II he takes private room. he
must be registered at police headquarters.
Three separate reports are to be made
out concerning his case, and they go TO
the local police station. the district sta
ton, and the main office. Besides his name
age. and business. he Is expected to tell
the object of his visit. his religion, whether
he Is single or married, where re came
from, and how long he intends to remain
When he leaevs town another report, Ca
planning whittier he is bound is nec-s-
sary, and as long as he stays in the coun-
try he is compelled by law TO keep the
Polizei informed OF all changes in his ad-
dress, business and family. Any delay on
the part OF his landlady in handing in these
items subjects her TO fine of $50.
For the travellers peace of mind it is
well, too, that all these details be made
perfectly plain: If not the police give him
no rest. A short time ago the wife of one
OF our most noted professors felt herself
driven TO leave the German capital on
account of the harassing visitations Of the
police. She lived in a pension in the city
proper. and her son. young man of twen-
ty-two. resided In the suburbs. The police
could not comprehend how such situation
was possible. albeit they were told time
and again that the son was in the suburbs
10 be near the Polytechnic Institute. At
last they decided that he was not her son
at all, but her husband. and attempted tC
prove this on the iattering ground that
she looked too young TO be the mother
~ IL
her life so burdensome that she could
endure 1t no longer and left for another
city.
The christening OF a baby is an equally
troublesome affair for the married Ameri-
can. I'm case he is blessed with one during
his sojourn In Germany; he must report it
at police headquarters within six week1
after it's birth. and II he has failed to find a
proper name for II the police help him Iut.
A New Yorker once notified the Polizei Snat
he had given his child the family name OF
That's no name" said the officer In
charge. Call him Joachim And Joachim
was written down without the slightest In
Quiry as TO the child's sex
Marriages and burials are as complicated
as christenings- IL the American wants 10
marry an American woman in Germany, ne
must publish an announcement of his inten-
lions In the home papers or both parties Tor
two weeks before the ceremony is 10 take
place, and he must also present TO the au-
thorities the two baptismal certificates. and
even certificates as to deaths in the family
have been required. Any hitch in these
arrangements makes Ii possible for the po-
lice to postpone the wedding indefinitely.
young couple known to the writer once es-
capped these forrnahties by going TO Heligo-
land, but since the exchange with England
that island Is police governed as any
otner part OF the empire; and the same
make the affairs so complex in Germany
proper are now required there.
II. perchance, Ii Is funeral that is to be
arranged, before the corpse can be laid at
rest burial pass" explaining the cause
of the death and that there is absolutely
cured from the police. In case the deceased
was not a resident of the town where the
burial Is. to take place and has been brought
there from another community. long delay
at the railway station Is possible. The late
Prof Won Gneist. for example. died In War
buried In Berlin, but before his remains
could enter the town his sons had TO ar
at the railway station.
RENTED GRAVES.
1t Is well to add also that no grave. unless
very distinct and costly stipulations are
made TO the contrary. can remain intact
for over fifteen years. After that time the
police have the right to order its rental
20 another body.
That there Is an unpleasant side to this
officialism one can deny, and even the
long-suffering Germans break out with
complaints at times; but there is a useful
side as well. and the foreigner. in his fret
fuiness, Is apt TO overlook 1t. If he is seek
ing the address OF a friend. for instance.
and cannot find IL in the Directory" all
that he has 10 do is to go to the police,
pay 20 pfennigs and get the desired in
formation 1t Is given 10 him on piece of
paper especially made for the purpose and
tf he can speak no German he needs only
20 hand II TO cabman and drive TO the
In l.
an insufficiently- addressed letter. The post
~ IN constant communication with the po-
not deliver IL is given to the '.PoIizel"
nave known letter addressed merely "Mr
-. FREDERICK street. Germany" TO be de-
almost as soon as III Ii had been directed
properly and in detail
Passports. much as we Americans dislike
them. also have their advantages The no.
lice have the right 10 accost any one in the
street and demand the citizenship papers,"
and IL they are not forthcoming Immediate
~ and no satisfactory explanation can be
given, the officer is entitled to arrest the
man on the spot. In this way suspicious
characters are continually liable to an in
counterfeft passes, and have seen a num-
Der Of the bogus kind on. my, travels with
able TO place any criminal in the country
and II Is a noticeable fact that very few
lin on ana ON for nearly ten Years. IA and 7
can recall none OF any Importance the per-
petration OF which has not been ferreted
out sooner or later.
During my study or vagabondage In Ger
many had uncommon opportunities to test
the vigilance OF the police in this passport
system. Two experiences I remember par
ttcularly. One was in little town in Hesse
! had halted there for the night in a
Heroerge, or Strollers Ina, where Hand
Nerksburschen' are the principal guests
The police inspect these places every day
ana eacn person present is compelled to
snow MS pass. On the night in question the
usual RevidirGng took place and / was
asked. like the rest. 10 hand in my papers
All that had was my American passport
nut delivered Il up. The policeman took H.
paved II over several times and then said:
You are an Austrian. NIGHT wahr?'
NO. sir. / returned: "I'rn an American
We'll. where is your German pass them
his mistake publicly.
II did not know that I needed any" 7
answered. fearing that / was booked for the
police station.
Well you do need one" he continued
scowling, and you want TO get II the min
ute you reach Frankfort, too IL YOU don't
I'll have YOU arrested" And then he threw
the passport In my face and called II ''ein
echmutziges Ding" I was glad to get or
rs easily as this. but the man was mistaken
about my needing a German pass. Only A
German citizen can secure that
UNDER INSPECTION.
The other encounter took place I'm Stuff
CART. standing in railway station
there one day. studying map of Switzer-
land. when dapper little man en- civille
stepped up 10 me and said: ~ am from