The Complex Policing System of Oldenburg, a Middle German State Far Away from the War?

Abstract

Situated on the coast of the North Sea, the Grand Duchy of Oldenburg was remote from the front-line, but not from the war. Many mobilised men went far away to the front, but conversely prisoners of war were kept, spies and saboteurs were feared, and the effects of the severe food restrictions in Germany were felt, as it was an agrarian state which benefited from a large surplus of milk products, eggs and meat, leading to black market activities, farm thefts and burglaries. The police forces had to adapt to this situation with fewer men and to cooperate with the Prussian Army and the Imperial Navy, which further complicated the Oldenburg policing system, until finally at the end of the war it was confronted with defeat, revolution and the treaty of Versailles.