Border Protection Forces

Border Protection Forces Wojska Ochrony Pogranicza
Emblem of the Border Protection Forces
Ensign of vessels of the Border Defence Army
Abbreviation	BPT, WOP
Agency overview
Formed	13 September, 1945
Preceding agency	Straż Graniczna (1928-39) Border Protection Corps (1924-1939) in the border with the Soviet Union
Dissolved	15 May 1991
Superseding agency	Border Guard
Jurisdictional structure
Operations jurisdiction	PL
Operational structure
Parent agency	Ministry of Interior
Notables
Anniversary	10 June

Border Protection Forces (Polish: Wojska Ochrony Pogranicza, WOP), also known under its English abbreviation BPT, was the border guard service of the People's Republic of Poland from 1945 to 1989. During its 46 years of existence, it repeatedly changed its structural and service subordination, passing from the Ministry of National Defense through the Ministry of Public Security to the Ministry of the Interior, and vice versa, to remain under the Ministry of Interior since 1972. Border Protection Forces soldiers were subject to the same rules and regulations as those of other soldiers of the Polish People's Republic. As a result of political transformation and the setup of the Third Polish Republic, the Border Protection Forces were disbanded on May 16, 1991, and the Border Guard was created in their place as a preventive-type police formation established to protect Poland's borders.^[1]