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Originally Posted by mergele
I am a bit confused regarding the position of political officer. I assumed it to be something like the Star Treck medical officer (When the commander gets really out of wack you step in there), but this time she seemed to have some real decision making authority aside from that. Also who does she answer to? She seems to be a subordinate of that guy at the ship, while Iris... (head of 666th) is not.
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The post of political officer (or political commissar) is something originally created by the Red Army of the Soviet Union. In the Red Army the commissar was responsible for the indoctrination of the troops and to guarantee the loyalty of the commanders. If the commissar had the impression that an order by the commander was against the principles of the Communist Party he had the authority to override said order. Not sure how it was handled in the GDR, with the key being whether they had the right to override orders by the actual commander.