Editing GSG 9 (section)

==History==
As a consequence of the overwhelmed Bavarian State Police's mismanagement of the 1972 [[Munich massacre]], the West German government established the GSG 9 police tactical unit in September 1972. This unit was formed under the command of Lieutenant Colonel (''[[Oberstleutnant]]'') [[Ulrich Wegener]] of the Federal Border Protection (''[[Bundesgrenzschutz]]''), who proposed the creation of the tactical unit. The [[Federal Ministry of the Interior (Germany)|Federal Ministry of the Interior]], under Federal Interior Minister [[Hans-Dietrich Genscher]], to whom Wegener also served as [[adjutant]], sanctioned and directed its formation. The goal was to ensure that future high-risk situations could be handled adequately and professionally.<ref>{{cite web|title=Conception for the Establishment and Employment of a Border-Guard for Special Police Action (GSG9)|url=http://www.sapstf.org/pdf/1972%20GSG9%20Formation%20Document.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://www.sapstf.org/pdf/1972%20GSG9%20Formation%20Document.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live|access-date=9 September 2017|date=19 September 1972}}</ref><ref name="BROL1">{{cite interview |last=Wegener |first=Ulrich |subject-link=Ulrich Wegener |interviewer=Holger Lösch |title=Ulrich Wegener Ehemaliger Kommandeur der GSG 9 im Gespräch mit Holger Lösch |trans-title=Ulrich Wegener Former commander of the GSG 9 in conversation with Holger Lösch |lang=de |work=BR-ONLINE Alpha-Forum |publisher=Bayerischer Rundfunk |url=https://www.br.de/fernsehen/ard-alpha/sendungen/alpha-forum/ulrich-wegener-gespraech100~attachment.pdf |location=Munich |date=2000-11-14|access-date=2024-08-26}}</ref>

Many German politicians opposed the formation of GSG 9, fearing it would rekindle memories of the ''[[Schutzstaffel]]'' (SS) and the [[National Socialists]]' misuse of the military as an instrument of domestic power. To address these concerns, the decision was made to form the unit from the Federal Border Protection (''[[Bundesgrenzschutz]]''), rather than the [[German Army]]. This approach differed from Israel's military [[special operations]] unit, ''[[Sayeret Matkal]]'', which was the only known comparable unit with some experience specifically in counter-terrorism and hostage-rescue at the time. Since German federal law also expressly forbid the use of military forces against the civilian population or domestic threats, creating a police tactical unit composed of highly trained and skilled police personnel avoided this issue.

Two weeks after the [[Munich Olympic massacre]], the GSG 9 unit was officially established on 26 September 1972. By April 1973, Wegener reported that the first two sub-units (''Teileinheiten'') were operationally ready. At the time, the GSG 9 was part of the ''Bundesgrenzschutz'' (BGS; Federal Border Protection), which was renamed ''[[Federal Police (Germany)|Bundespolizei]]'' (Federal Police) in 2005.<ref name="WLT1">{{cite web|access-date=2024-08-11|date=2023-09-29|lang=de|location=Berlin|publisher=Welt, Axel Springer Deutschland|first=Sven Felix|last1=Kellerhoff|title=Ulrich Wegener, Er schuf die GSG-9, die in Mogadischu die entführte "Landshut" befreite|trans-title=Ulrich Wegener, He created the GSG-9, which liberated the hijacked "Landshut" in Mogadishu|url=https://www.welt.de/geschichte/kopf-des-tages/article234006458/Ulrich-Wegener-Nach-der-Geiselnahme-in-Muenchen-1972-schuf-er-die-GSG-9.html}}</ref> The then-BGS had a [[paramilitary]] nature, using military ranks until 1976. BGS officers had [[combatant]] status, being de facto classified as combatants before 1965, with this status expressly regulated by law from 1965 to 1994. Additionally, conscripts could fulfill their military service obligation by serving in the BGS.<ref>This norm, for a long time merely theoretical – possibly the only German law with monetary values in [[Deutsche Mark]] not amended to euros – has outlasted even the draft suspension of 2011 and is theoretically still applicable. [http://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/bgsg/index.html]</ref>

The designation ''GSG 9'' is derived from the structure of the Federal Border Protection (BGS, ''Bundesgrenzschutz''), which, at the time of the unit's founding, consisted of four border protection commands with a total of eight border protection groups (GSG 1 to 7 and Sea). Since the GSG 9 was not integrated into any of the existing structures, it was designated Border Protection Group 9 (''Grenzschutzgruppe 9'', GSG 9). 

Since its inception, many other countries have developed counter-terrorism units trained by and modeled on the GSG 9.<ref name="NDTV1">{{cite web|access-date=2024-08-19|date=2009-11-18|location=New Delhi|publisher=NDTV, Press Trust Of India|title=How Germany will train India's National Security Guard|url=https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/how-germany-will-train-indias-national-security-guard-405066}}</ref><ref name="GD1">{{cite web|access-date=2024-08-19|date=2024-05-02|location=London|publisher=Grey Dynamics|title=Special Forces: El Grupo Especial de Intervención (GEI): The Mossos d’Esquadra Special Intervention Group|first=Javier|last=Sutil Toledano|url=https://greydynamics.com/el-grupo-especial-de-intervencion-gei-the-mossos-desquadra-special-intervention-group/}}</ref> For example, Spain's ''[[Unidad Especial de Intervención]] (UEI)'' ([[Civil Guard (Spain)|Civil Guard]])<ref name="GD1" /> and India's [[National Security Guard]] (NSG), which was trained and upgraded with the help of GSG 9 after the [[2008 Mumbai attacks]].<ref name="NDTV1" /><ref name="TIE1">{{cite web|access-date=2024-08-19|date=2018-12-20|location=New Delhi|publisher=The Indian Express|title=Elite German police wing to train NSG: The two countries have agreed after the Mumbai attacks for GSG-9 to help train and upgrade the NSG.|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/news-archive/elite-german-police-wing-to-train-nsg/}}</ref> Additionally, many other countries have adopted various tactics, training methods, and operational strategies from GSG 9 to enhance their counter-terrorism capabilities.

===Name change===
After renaming the ''Bundesgrenzschutz'' to ''Bundespolizei'' in 2005, the abbreviation "GSG 9" was retained due to the unit's fame, reflecting the name change rather than any functional obsolescence. The contemporary official designation for the unit is '''GSG 9 der Bundespolizei''' (abbreviated '''GSG 9 BPOL''' or simply '''GSG 9''').<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bundespolizei.de/Web/DE/05Die-Bundespolizei/04Einsatzkraefte/GSG9-neu/01-Die-GSG9/Dreispaltig/Entstehung/entstehung_node.html|title = Bundespolizei - Entstehung}}</ref>