GDR (German Democratic Republic) is a state located in the central part of Europe and existed from 1949 to 1990. Why is this period firmly in history? We will talk about this in our article.
A bit about the GDR
East Berlin became the capital of the GDR. The territory occupied 6 modern federal states of Germany. The GDR by administrative structure was divided into lands, districts and urban areas. It is worth noting that Berlin was not included in any of the 6 lands and had a special status.
The creation of the army of the GDR
The army of the GDR was created in 1956. It consisted of 3 military branches: land, navy and air force. November 12, 1955 the government announced the creation of the Bundeswehr - the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. On January 18 of the following year, the law “On the creation of the National People’s Army and the formation of the Ministry of National Defense” was officially approved. In the same year, various headquarters subordinate to the ministry began their activities, and the first divisions of the NNA took a military oath. In 1959, the Engels Military Academy was opened, in which young people were trained for future service. She played an important role in the formation of a strong and efficient army, as the training system was thought out to the smallest detail. Nevertheless, it should be noted that until 1962 the army of the GDR was replenished for hire.
The GDR included Saxon and Prussian lands, on which the most warlike Germans had previously lived. It was they who served as the foundation for the NNA to become a powerful and rapidly growing force. The Prussians and Saxons quickly moved up the career ladder, first occupying the highest officer posts, and then taking control of the NNA. You should also remember the traditional discipline of the Germans, love of military affairs, the rich experience of the Prussian military and advanced military equipment, because all this together made the GDR army almost invincible.
Activities
The army of the GDR began its active work in 1962, when the first maneuvers were carried out in Poland and the GDR, in which soldiers from the Polish and Soviet sides participated. The year 1963 was marked by large-scale military exercises called the Quartet, in which NNA, Polish, Czechoslovak, and Soviet troops participated.
Despite the fact that in terms of size the army of the GDR was not at all impressive, it was the most combat-ready army in the whole of Western Europe. The soldiers showed excellent results, which relied heavily on studies at the F. Engels Academy. Those who joined the hired army were trained in all skills and became powerful murder weapons.
Doctrine
The National People's Army of the GDR had its own doctrine, which was developed by the leadership. The principles of the organization of the army were based on the denial of all the postulates of the Prussian-German military. An important point of the doctrine was the strengthening of the defense forces to protect the country's socialist system. Separately, the importance of cooperation with the armies of the socialist countries-allies was emphasized.
Despite the great desire of the government, the National People's Army of the GDR was not able to completely break all ties with the classics of German military traditions. The army partially practiced the old customs of the proletariat and the era of the Napoleonic wars.
The 1968 Constitution stated that the National People's Army of the GDR was called upon to protect the territory of the state, as well as its citizens, from external encroachments of other countries. In addition, it was indicated that all forces would be cast into the protection and strengthening of the socialist system of the state. To maintain its power, the army maintained close ties with other armies.
Numerical expression
The national army of the GDR by 1987 totaled 120 thousand soldiers. The army ground forces consisted of 9 air defense regiments, 1 air support regiment, 2 anti-tank battalions, 10 artillery regiments, etc. The army of the GDR, the armament of which was sufficient, defeated the enemy with the ability to handle its resources, cohesion and a well-thought-out tactical approach.
Training
The training of soldiers took place in higher officers' schools, which was attended by almost all young people. Especially popular was the previously mentioned Academy of F. Engels, which graduated professionals in their field. By 1973, the army was 90% peasants and workers.
Army structure
The territory of Germany was divided into 2 military districts, which were in charge of the People’s Army of the GDR. The headquarters of the districts are located in Leipzig and Neubrandenburg. A separate artillery brigade was also created, which was not part of any districts, each of which had 2 motorized divisions, 1 missile brigade and 1 armored division.
Army uniform
The Soviet army of the GDR wore a uniform with a red stand-up collar. Because of this, she received the nickname "canary." The Soviet army served near the GB building. Soon the question arose of creating your own form. It was invented, but it really resembled the form of the Nazis. The excuses of the government consisted in the fact that the necessary quantity of such uniforms is in the warehouses that its production is established and does not require intervention. The reason for the adoption of the traditional uniform was also the fact that the GDR did not have large financial investments. The emphasis was also placed on the fact that if the army is popular, then its form should be associated with proletarian folk tradition.
The uniform of the GDR army inspired some forgotten fear associated with the times of Nazism. The story tells that when a military band was in Prague, half of the Czechs scattered in different directions, seeing the uniform of soldiers with helmets and wicker epaulets.
The army of the GDR, whose uniform was not very original, had a pronounced color differentiation. Officers in the navy wore blue clothing. The air forces of the Air Force were dressed in light blue, while the air defense and anti-aircraft missile troops wore a light gray uniform. The border troops should wear bright green clothing.
Most of all, the color differentiation of the military was manifested in the uniform of the ground forces. Artillery, air defense and missile troops wore clothes of brick color, motorized rifle clothes - white, amphibious - orange, and military construction - olive. The rear services of the army (medicine, military justice and the financial service) were dressed in dark green uniforms.
Equipment
The equipment of the army of the GDR was quite significant. There was almost no shortage of weapons, since the Soviet Union supplied a large number of modern military equipment at an affordable price. Rather developed and common in the GDR were sniper rifles. The Ministry of State Security of the GDR itself made an order to create such weapons to strengthen the positions of anti-terrorist groups.
Army in Czechoslovakia
The army of the GDR invaded the territory of Czechoslovakia in 1968, and from that time the worst period began for the Czechs. The invasion took place with the help of the troops of all the Warsaw Treaty member countries. The goal was the occupation of the territory of the state, and the reason was the reaction to a series of reforms, which were called the Prague Spring. It is difficult to find out the exact number of deaths, as many archives still remain closed.
The army of the GDR in Czechoslovakia was distinguished by calmness and some cruelty. Eyewitnesses of those events recalled that the soldiers belonged to the population without sentiment, not paying attention to the sick, wounded and children. Mass terror and unreasonable rigidity - this is how you can characterize the activities of the people's army. Interestingly, some participants in the events said that the Russian army had practically no influence on the troops of the German Democratic Republic and was supposed to silently endure mockery of the Czechs on the orders of the high command.
If you do not take into account the official history, it becomes interesting that, according to some sources, the army of the GDR was not entered into Czechoslovakia, but concentrated near the borders of the state. The atrocities of the GDR National Army cannot be justified, but the mental stress, fatigue and guilt with which the Germans went to Prague should be taken into account. The question of the number of deaths, as well as how many of them were real accidents, remains a mystery.
The composition of the Navy of the GDR
The Navy of the GDR army was the most powerful of all the USSR allies. He owned modern ships that went into circulation in 1970-1980. At the time of the reunification of Germany, the navy had 110 ships and 69 auxiliary vessels. They had different purposes, while they were modern and equipped. Ships were built at national shipyards in the USSR and Poland. The air forces had at their disposal 24 equipped helicopters. The personnel of the Navy was approximately 16 thousand people.
The most powerful were 3 ships built at the Zelenodolsk shipyard in the USSR. At the same time, the GDR army had a special class of ships, which were very compact in size.
Activities after the reunification of Germany
October 3, 1990 there was a unification of Germany. By this time, the strength of the army of the GDR was almost 90 thousand people. For some political reasons, a powerful and large enough army was disbanded. Officers and ordinary soldiers were not recognized as military, and their seniority was canceled. The staff was gradually dismissed. Some of the military were able to return to the Bundeswehr, but received only lower positions there.
If the military was considered unsuitable for service in the new army, then this can still be found a logical explanation. They were brought up in a certain way, their focus was the opposite of the goals of a united Germany. Oddly enough, the new government decided to sell or recycle most of the military equipment. The German leadership was actively looking for wealthy sellers in order to sell more modern equipment more expensive. Part of the ships moved to the Indonesian fleet.
The US government was very interested in the Soviet technology of Germany and hastened to purchase part of it for themselves. Of greatest interest was the boat, which was delivered to the US Navy Research Center in the city of Solomon. A lot of research was carried out on it, and at the same time it was highly appreciated by American shipbuilders. In the end, it was recognized that such RCAs pose a great threat to the US Navy.
Interestingly, not a single ship of the National People's Army was included in the navy of a united Germany. This ended the history of the NDR of the GDR, whose ships can be found in 8 different states.
Disappointment
After the reunification of Germany, the country rejoiced, but thousands of officers of the former people's army were left to their own devices. The army of the GDR, the photo of which is presented in the article, was confused, disappointed and evil. Only recently, soldiers were the elite of society, and now they have become garbage that they did not want to hire. Pretty soon, the country's population itself realized that it was not the unification of Germany, but the actual takeover by its western neighbor.
Former military stood idle at the exchanges to get any job in order to feed themselves and their family. All that the employees (with higher and lower ranks) of the GDR received after unification was discrimination and humiliation in all spheres of life.
Rank system
In the NNA, the rank system consisted of insignia of the Wehrmacht. Ranks and signs were thoughtfully adapted to the system of the Soviet Army, since its gradation was somewhat different from the German one. By combining these two systems, the army of the GDR created something of its own. The generals were divided into 4 ranks: Marshal of the GDR, army general, colonel general and lieutenant general. The officers consisted of colonels, lieutenant colonels, majors, captains and senior lieutenants. Next was a subsection of warrant officers, sergeants and soldiers.
The National People's Army of the GDR was a powerful force that could significantly change the course of history throughout the world. Fate turned out so that the soldiers had no chance to show all their strength and power, as this was prevented by the unification of Germany, which led to the complete disintegration of the NNA.