Border Guard ( Poland ) Border Guard ( Polish " Straż Graniczna " , SG ) is a Polish state security agency tasked with patrol of the Polish border . It existed in the Second Polish Republic from 1928 to 1939 and was recreated in Third Polish Republic in 1990 . ( During the times of the People ' s Republic of Poland , 1945 - 1989 , the role of the border guards in Poland was carried out by the military formation of Border Defence Troops ) 1928 - 1939 . Straż Graniczna was founded in 1928 . During the times of the Second Polish Republic , it was responsible for northern , western and southern border of Poland ( with Germany , Free City of Gdańsk , sea border , Czechoslovakia and Romania ) . Eastern border , often raided by military bands supported by Soviet Union was under the jurisdiction of a separate , military formation ( Border Defence Corps , " Korpus Ochrony Pogranicza " - KOP ) . Responsibilities of Straż Graniczna included : Border Guard was organized in a military style , with uniformed and armed agents . It was controlled by the Ministry of Treasury , Ministry of Internal Affairs , and Ministry of Military Affairs . The highest level of organizational structure of the agency was Main Headquarters ( " Komenda Glowna " ) , based in Warsaw . It was followed by Regional Inspectorates , Border Inspectorates , stations and posts . It carried out actions through patrols , manning border checkpoints , tracking , rouses and intelligence work . It had its own river and sea flotilla , intelligence academy , and the Main School of Border Guard ( " Centralna Szkola Strazy Granicznej " ) , which was located firstly in Gora Kalwaria ( until 1928 ) , then in Rawa Ruska . The school had a department of training of guard dogs , also located in Rawa Ruska . Each station of the agency was responsible for some 20 to 25 kilometers of the borderline . The stations oversaw posts of the first line and posts of the second line . In 1938 , there were 129 stations of the Border Guard , 419 posts of the first line ( these were located right along the border ) , and 212 posts of the second line ( located in the interior of the country , right behind posts of the first line ) . Regional inspectorates in 1939 . In late 1938 and early 1939 , following changes of borders of some Eastern European countries , the Border Guard took over protection of the boundary with Lithuania , while Border Defence Corps moved some of its units to the newly established border with Hungary . Furthermore , every station of the Border Guard was strengthened with a platoon of the Polish Army . Members of Straż Graniczna , under General Walerian Czuma , participated in the Second World War , fighting in the Polish Army during the Invasion of Poland . 1945 - 1989 . During the times of the People ' s Republic of Poland , the role of the border guards was carried out by the military formation of Border Defence Troops ( " Wojska Ochrony Pogranicza " ) , being a part of the army . 1990 - present . Straż Graniczna has been reestablished in the Third Polish Republic as a civil , police - type service , with the act of 12 October 1990 and began operations on 16 May 1991 . It considers itself the successor to the Second Polish Republic formations of Straż Graniczna and Korpus Ochrony Pogranicza . From 1 May 2004 , the day Poland became a member of the European Union , Straż Graniczna is guarding both the Polish and EU borders .