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 established in history? We will talk about this in our article.
A little about the GDR
East Berlin became the capital of the GDR. The territory occupied 6 modern federal states of Germany. The GDR was administratively divided into lands, districts and urban areas. It is worth noting that Berlin was not included in any of the 6 states and had a special status.
Creation of the army of the GDR
The GDR army was created in 1956. It consisted of 3 types of troops: land, navy and air force. On 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 Establishment 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 subdivisions of the NPA took the military oath. In 1959, the F. Engels Military Academy was opened, in which young people are trained for future service. She played an important role in the formation of a strong and efficient army, sohow the training system was thought out to the smallest detail. Nevertheless, it should be noted that until 1962, the GDR army was replenished by hire.
The GDR included Saxon and Prussian lands, which were previously inhabited by the most warlike Germans. It was they who served to ensure that the NPA became a powerful and rapidly growing force. The Prussians and Saxons quickly moved up the career ladder, first occupying senior officer positions, and then taking over the management of the NPA. You should also remember the traditional discipline of the Germans, love for military affairs, the rich experience of the Prussian military and advanced military equipment, because all this in total made the army of the GDR almost invincible.
Activities
The GDR army began its active work in 1962, when the first maneuvers were held on the territory of 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 the NPA, Polish, Czechoslovak and Soviet troops participated.
Despite the fact that the size of the army of the GDR was not at all impressive, it was the most combat-ready army in all of Western Europe. The soldiers showed excellent results, which was largely based on their studies at the Academy of F. Engels. Those who joined the army for hire were trained in all the skills and became powerful killing tools.
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 denialall 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 allied countries was emphasized.
Despite the great aspirations 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 ways of the proletariat and the era of the Napoleonic wars.
The Constitution of 1968 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 thrown into the protection and strengthening of the socialist system of the state. To maintain its strength, the army maintained close ties with other armies.
Numeric expression
The national army of the GDR by 1987 consisted of 120 thousand soldiers. The ground forces of the army consisted of 9 air defense regiments, 1 air support regiment, 2 anti-tank battalions, 10 artillery regiments, etc. The army of the GDR, whose weapons were sufficient, defeated the enemy with the ability to handle their resources, cohesion and thoughtful tactical approach.
Preparation
The training of soldiers took place in higher officer schools, which were attended by almost all young people. The previously mentioned Academy of F. Engels, which produced professionals in their field, was especially popular. By 1973, the composition of the army on90% consisted of peasants and workers.
Structure in the army
The territory of Germany was divided into 2 military districts, which were in charge of the People's Army of the GDR. The district headquarters are located in Leipzig and Neubrandenburg. A separate artillery brigade was also created, which was not part of any district, 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 at the State Security building. Soon the question arose of creating your own form. She was invented, but she was very much like the form of the Nazis. The government's excuses were that the necessary amount of such uniforms were in stock, that their production was established and did 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 people's, then its form should be associated with the proletarian folk tradition.
The form of the GDR army inspired a certain forgotten fear associated with the times of Nazism. The story tells that when a military band was visiting Prague, half of the Czechs fled in different directions, seeing the uniform of soldiers with helmets and wicker shoulder straps.
The army of the GDR, whose uniform was not very original, had a pronounced color differentiation. Members of the Navy wore clothesof blue color. The air services of the Air Force dressed in light blue, while the air defense and anti-aircraft missile forces wore light gray uniforms. The border troops were supposed to wear bright green clothes.
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 brick-colored clothes, motorized rifle troops wore white, airborne troops wore orange, and military construction troops wore olive. The rear services of the army (medicine, military justice and financial service) dressed in dark green uniforms.
Equipment
Equipment of the GDR army was quite weighty. There was almost no shortage of weapons, since the Soviet Union supplied a large amount of modern military equipment at an affordable price. Quite developed and widespread in the GDR were sniper rifles. The Ministry of State Security of the GDR itself ordered the creation of such weapons to strengthen the position of anti-terrorist groups.
Army in Czechoslovakia
The GDR army invaded Czechoslovakia in 1968, and from that time the worst period for the Czechs began. The invasion took place with the help of the troops of all countries participating in the Warsaw Pact. 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 know the exact number of dead, as many archives are still closed.
The GDR army in Czechoslovakia distinguished itself by its cold-bloodedness and some cruelty. Eyewitnesses of those events recalled thatsoldiers treated 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 GDR and had to silently endure the abuse of the Czechs by order of the high command.
If you do not take into account the official history, then it becomes interesting that according to some sources, the GDR army was not introduced into the territory of Czechoslovakia, but concentrated at the borders of the state. The atrocities of the National Army of the GDR cannot be justified, but one should take into account the mental stress, fatigue and guilt with which the Germans went to Prague. The question of the number of deaths, as well as how many of them were real accidents, remains a mystery.
Composition of the Navy of the GDR
The navy of the GDR army was the most powerful of all the allied countries of the USSR. He owned modern ships that came into circulation in 1970-1980. At the time of the unification of Germany, the navy had 110 ships and 69 auxiliary vessels. They had different purposes, while being modern and equipped. Ships were built at national shipyards in the USSR and Poland. The air force had at its disposal 24 equipped helicopters. The personnel of the Navy was equal to approximately 16 thousand people.
The most powerful were 3 ships built on Zelenodolskshipyard in the USSR. At the same time, the GDR army had a special class of ships that were very compact in size.
Activities after German reunification
On October 3, 1990, the unification of Germany took place. By this time, the strength of the GDR army was almost 90 thousand people. For some political reasons, a powerful and fairly large army was disbanded. Officers and ordinary soldiers were not recognized as military, and their seniority was annulled. The staff was gradually laid off. Some of the military was 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. It is rather strange that the new government decided to sell or dispose of most of the military equipment. The German leadership was actively looking for we althy sellers in order to sell the still modern equipment at a higher price. Part of the ships transferred to the Indonesian fleet.
The US government was very interested in the Soviet technology of the FRG and hastened to purchase part of it for itself. Of greatest interest was the boat, which was delivered to the research center of the US Navy in the city of Solomon. A lot of research was carried out on him, and at the same time he was highly appreciated by American shipbuilders. As a result, it was recognized that such RCA pose a great threat to the US Navy.
It's interesting thatnot a single ship of the National People's Army became part of the navy of the united Germany. This was the end of the history of the navy of the GDR, whose ships can be found in 8 different countries.
Disappointment
After the reunification of Germany, the country rejoiced, but thousands of officers of the former people's army were left to fend for themselves. The GDR army, the photo of which is presented in the article, was confused, disappointed and angry. Only recently the soldiers were the elite of society, and now they have become the dregs that they did not want to hire. Pretty soon, the population of the country itself realized that it was not the unification of Germany, but the actual absorption by the western neighbor.
Former military men stood in line at the stock exchanges to get any job in order to feed themselves and their families. All that employees (with higher and lower ranks) of the GDR received after the unification was discrimination and humiliation in all spheres of life.
Rank system
In the NPA, the rank system consisted of Wehrmacht insignia. 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 GDR army created something of its own. The generals were divided into 4 ranks: Marshal of the GDR, Army General, Colonel General and Lieutenant General. The officer corps consisted of colonels, lieutenant colonels, majors, captains and senior lieutenants. Next came the subsection of ensigns, sergeants and soldiers.
The National People's Army of the GDR was powerfula force that could significantly change the course of history around the world. Fate turned out so that the soldiers did not have a chance to show all their strength and power, as this was prevented by the unification of Germany, which led to the complete collapse of the NPA.
