East Berliner Arrested for Draft Evasion After German Reunification

In late January 1991, 19-year-old Sascha Braumann was arrested at his Berlin-Treptow apartment by police and military police (Feldjäger) for evading military service. Braumann had been summoned for conscription based on a prior NVA draft registration from East German times, despite German reunification having occurred in October 1990. He had been hiding elsewhere for weeks but returned to his apartment to collect belongings. Within ten minutes, officers arrived and apprehended him in a forceful operation. He was taken to a provisional Feldjäger command in Potsdam-Eiche, then transferred to a barracks in Essen for detention. The required hearing before arrest did not take place. The case highlights the legal complexities and personal conflicts arising from the transition from East to West German military systems.