GDR troops National People's Army. After German reunification

Exactly sixty years ago, on January 18, 1956, the decision was made to create the National People's Army of the German Democratic Republic (NPA GDR). Although the Day of the National People's Army was officially celebrated on March 1, since it was on this day in 1956 that the first military units of the GDR took the oath, in reality the NPA can be counted precisely from January 18, when the People's Chamber of the GDR adopted the Law on the National People's Army of the GDR. Having existed for 34 years, until the unification of Germany in 1990, the National People's Army of the GDR went down in history as one of the most combat-ready armies of post-war Europe. Among the socialist countries, it was second after the Soviet Army in terms of training and was considered the most reliable among the armies of the Warsaw Pact countries.

Actually, the history of the National People's Army of the GDR began after West Germany began to form its own armed forces. In the post-war years, the Soviet Union pursued a much more peaceful policy than its Western opponents. Therefore, for a long time, the USSR sought to comply with the agreements and was in no hurry to arm East Germany. As is known, according to the decision of the Conference of the Heads of Government of Great Britain, the USSR and the USA, held on July 17 - August 2, 1945 in Potsdam, Germany was prohibited from having its own armed forces. But after the end of World War II, relations between yesterday's allies - the USSR on the one hand, the USA and Great Britain on the other, began to rapidly deteriorate and soon became extremely tense. Capitalist countries and socialist camp found themselves on the verge of armed confrontation, which actually gave grounds for violating the agreements that were reached in the process of victory over Nazi Germany. By 1949, the Federal Republic of Germany was created on the territory of the American, British and French occupation zones, and the German Democratic Republic. The first to militarize “their” part of Germany - the Federal Republic of Germany - were Great Britain, the USA and France.

In 1954, the Paris Agreements were concluded, the secret part of which provided for the creation of West Germany's own armed forces. Despite the protests of the West German population, which saw the re-creation of the country's armed forces as an increase in revanchist and militaristic sentiments and feared a new war, on November 12, 1955, the German government announced the creation of the Bundeswehr. Thus began the history of the West German army and the history of the almost undisguised confrontation between the “two Germanys” in the field of defense and weapons. After the decision to create the Bundeswehr, the Soviet Union had no choice but to “give the go-ahead” to the formation of its own army and the German Democratic Republic. The history of the National People's Army of the GDR has become a unique example of a strong military partnership between the Russian and German armies, which in the past fought more with each other than cooperated. We should not forget that the high combat capability of the NPA was explained by the inclusion of Prussia and Saxony in the GDR - lands from which the bulk of the German officers had long originated. It turns out that it was the NNA, and not the Bundeswehr, that largely inherited the historical traditions of the German armies, but this experience was put at the service of the military cooperation of the GDR and Soviet Union.

Barracks People's Police - predecessor of the NPA

It should be noted that in fact the creation of armed units, the service of which was based on military discipline, began in the GDR even earlier. In 1950, the People's Police was created as part of the Ministry of the Interior of the GDR, as well as two main departments - the Main Directorate of the Air Police and the Main Directorate of the Maritime Police. In 1952, on the basis of the Main Directorate of Combat Training of the People's Police of the GDR, the Barracks People's Police was created, which was an analogue of the internal troops of the Soviet Union. Naturally, the KNP could not conduct fighting against modern armies and was called upon to perform purely police functions - to fight sabotage and bandit groups, disperse riots, and protect public order. This was confirmed by the decision of the 2nd party conference of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany. The Barracks People's Police was subordinate to the Minister of the Interior of the GDR, Willi Stof, and the direct leadership of the Barracks People's Police was carried out by the chief of the KNP. Lieutenant General Heinz Hoffmann was appointed to this post. The personnel of the Barracks People's Police were recruited from among volunteers who entered into a contract for a period of at least three years. In May 1952, the Union of Free German Youth took patronage over the Barracks People's Police of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the GDR, which contributed to a more active influx of volunteers into the ranks of the barracks police and improvement of the rear infrastructure of this service. In August 1952, the previously independent Maritime People's Police and Air People's Police became part of the Barracks People's Police of the GDR. In September 1953, the People's Air Police was transformed into the KNP Aero Clubs Directorate. It had two airfields, Kamenz and Bautzen, and Yak-18 and Yak-11 training aircraft. The Maritime People's Police had patrol boats and small minesweepers.

In the summer of 1953, it was the Barracks People's Police, along with Soviet troops, that played one of the main roles in suppressing the mass unrest organized by American-British agents. After this, the internal structure of the Barracks People's Police of the GDR was strengthened and its military component was strengthened. Further reorganization of the KNP along military lines continued, in particular, the creation Main Headquarters Barracks People's Police of the GDR, which was headed by Lieutenant General Vinzenz Müller, a former Wehrmacht general. The Territorial Administration North, headed by Major General Hermann Rentsch, and the Territorial Administration South, headed by Major General Fritz Jone, were also created. Each territorial department was subordinate to three operational detachments, and subordinate to the General Staff was a mechanized operational detachment, which was armed with even 40 units of armored vehicles, including T-34 tanks. The operational detachments of the Barracks People's Police were reinforced motorized infantry battalions with up to 1,800 personnel. The structure of the operational detachment included: 1) the headquarters of the operational detachment; 2) a mechanized company with BA-64 and SM-1 armored vehicles and motorcycles (the same company was armed with SM-2 armored water cannon tankers); 3) three motorized infantry companies (on trucks); 4) fire support company (field artillery platoon with three ZIS-3 guns; anti-tank artillery platoon with three 45 mm or 57 mm anti-tank guns; mortar platoon with three 82 mm mortars); 5) headquarters company (communications platoon, engineer platoon, chemical platoon, reconnaissance platoon, transport platoon, supply platoon, control department, medical department). In the Barracks People's Police, military ranks were established and a military uniform was introduced, which differed from the uniform of the People's Police of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the GDR (if the people's police officers wore a dark blue uniform, then the barracks police officers received a more “militarized” uniform of khaki color). The military ranks in the Barracks People's Police were established as follows: 1) soldier, 2) corporal, 3) non-commissioned officer, 4) staff non-commissioned officer, 5) sergeant major, 6) chief sergeant major, 7) non-commissioned lieutenant, 8) lieutenant, 9) chief lieutenant, 10) captain, 11) major, 12) lieutenant colonel, 13) colonel, 14) major general, 15) lieutenant general. When the decision was made to create the National People's Army of the GDR, thousands of employees of the Barracks People's Police of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the GDR expressed a desire to join the National People's Army and continue serving there. Moreover, in fact, it was within the Barracks People’s Police that the “skeleton” of the NPA was created - land, air and sea units, and the command staff of the Barracks People’s Police, including senior commanders, almost completely transferred to the NPA. The remaining employees of the Barracks People's Police continued to perform the functions of protecting public order and fighting crime, that is, they retained the functionality of the internal troops.

"Founding Fathers" of the GDR Army

On March 1, 1956, the Ministry of National Defense of the GDR began its work. It was headed by Colonel General Willi Stof (1914-1999), in 1952-1955. served as Minister of Internal Affairs. A communist with pre-war experience, Willy Stoff joined the German Communist Party at the age of 17. Being an underground worker, he, however, could not avoid serving in the Wehrmacht in 1935-1937. served in an artillery regiment. Then he was demobilized and worked as an engineer. During the Second World War, Willy Stoff was again called up for military service, participated in battles on the territory of the USSR, was wounded, and was awarded the Iron Cross for his valor. He went through the entire war and was captured in 1945. While in a Soviet prisoner of war camp, he completed a special training course at an anti-fascist prisoner of war school. The Soviet command trained future personnel from among prisoners of war to occupy administrative positions in the zone of Soviet occupation. Willi Stoff, who had not previously held prominent positions in the German communist movement, made a dizzying career in the several post-war years. After his release from captivity, he was appointed head of the industrial construction department, then headed the Department economic policy SED apparatus. In 1950-1952 Willi Stoff served as director of the economic department of the Council of Ministers of the GDR, and was then appointed Minister of the Interior of the GDR. Since 1950, he was also a member of the Central Committee of the SED - and this despite his young age - thirty-five years. In 1955, as Minister of the Interior of the GDR, Willi Stof received the military rank of Colonel General. Taking into account the experience of leading the power ministry, in 1956 it was decided to appoint Willy Stoff to the post of Minister of National Defense of the German Democratic Republic. In 1959, he received the following military rank: Army General. Lieutenant General Heinz Hoffmann, who held the position of head of the Barracks People's Police of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the GDR, also moved from the Ministry of Internal Affairs to the Ministry of National Defense of the GDR.

Heinz Hoffmann (1910-1985) can be called the second "founding father" of the National People's Army of the GDR, besides Willi Stoff. Coming from a working-class family, Hoffmann joined the Communist Youth League of Germany at the age of sixteen, and at the age of twenty became a member Communist Party Germany. In 1935, underground fighter Heinz Hoffmann was forced to leave Germany and flee to the USSR. Here he was selected to receive an education - first political at the International Lenin School in Moscow, and then military. From November 1936 to February 1837 Hoffman took special courses in Ryazan at the Military Academy named after. M.V. Frunze. After completing the courses, he received the rank of lieutenant and on March 17, 1937 he was sent to Spain, where at that time there was Civil War between Republicans and Francoists. Lieutenant Hoffman was assigned to the position of instructor in handling Soviets in the training battalion of the 11th International Brigade. On May 27, 1937, he was appointed military commissar of the Hans Beimler battalion as part of the same 11th International Brigade, and on July 7 he took command of the battalion. The next day, Hoffmann was wounded in the face, and on July 24 - in the legs and stomach. In June 1938, Hoffmann, who had previously been treated in hospitals in Barcelona, ​​was taken from Spain - first to France and then to the USSR. After the start of the war, he worked as a translator in prisoner of war camps, then became the chief political instructor in the Spaso-Zavodsky prisoner of war camp on the territory of the Kazakh SSR. From April 1942 to April 1945 Hoffmann held the positions of political instructor and teacher at the Central Anti-Fascist School. From April to December 1945, he was an instructor and then head of the 12th Party School of the Communist Party of Germany in Skhodnya.

After returning to East Germany in January 1946, Hoffmann worked in various positions in the SED apparatus. On July 1, 1949, with the rank of inspector general, he became vice-president of the German Department of Internal Affairs, and from April 1950 to June 1952, Heinz Hoffmann served as head of the Main Directorate of Combat Training of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the GDR. On July 1, 1952, he was appointed head of the Barracks People's Police of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the GDR and Deputy Minister of the Interior of the country. For obvious reasons, Heinz Hoffmann was chosen when he was included in the leadership of the emerging Ministry of National Defense of the GDR in 1956. This was also facilitated by the fact that from December 1955 to November 1957. Hoffman completed a course of study at the Military Academy of the General Staff of the USSR Armed Forces. Returning to his homeland, on December 1, 1957, Hoffmann was appointed First Deputy Minister of National Defense of the GDR, and on March 1, 1958, also as Chief of the General Staff of the National People's Army of the GDR. Subsequently, on July 14, 1960, Colonel General Heinz Hoffmann replaced Willi Stoff as Minister of National Defense of the GDR. The military department of the German Democratic Republic was headed by Army General (since 1961) Heinz Hoffmann until his death in 1985 - twenty-five years.

Chief of the NPA General Staff from 1967 to 1985. Colonel General (since 1985 - Army General) Heinz Kessler (born 1920) remained. Coming from a family of communist workers, Kessler in his youth took part in the activities of the youth organization of the Communist Party of Germany, however, like the vast majority of his peers, he did not escape conscription into the Wehrmacht. As an assistant machine gunner he was sent to the Eastern Front and already on July 15, 1941 he defected to the Red Army. In 1941-1945. Kessler was in Soviet captivity. At the end of 1941, he enrolled in courses at the Anti-Fascist School, then engaged in propaganda activities among prisoners of war and composed appeals to soldiers of the active Wehrmacht armies. In 1943-1945. He was a member of the National Committee for Free Germany. After being released from captivity and returning to Germany, Kessler in 1946, at the age of 26, became a member of the Central Committee of the SED and in 1946-1948. headed the organization of Free German Youth in Berlin. In 1950, he was appointed head of the Main Directorate of the Air Police of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the GDR with the rank of inspector general and remained in this post until 1952, when he was appointed head of the Air People's Police of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the GDR (from 1953 - head of the Aero Clubs Directorate of the Barracks People's Police Ministry of Internal Affairs of the GDR). Kessler was awarded the rank of Major General in 1952 with his appointment to the post of Chief of the People's Air Police. From September 1955 to August 1956, he trained at the Air Force Military Academy in Moscow. After completing his studies, Kessler returned to Germany and on September 1, 1956, was appointed Deputy Minister of National Defense of the GDR - Commander of the NPA Air Force. On October 1, 1959, he was awarded the military rank of lieutenant general. Kessler held this post for 11 years - until he was appointed chief of the NPA General Staff. December 3, 1985 after unexpected death Army General Karl-Heinz Hoffmann, Colonel General Heinz Kessler was appointed Minister of National Defense of the GDR and held this post until 1989. After the collapse of Germany, on September 16, 1993, a Berlin court sentenced Heinz Kessler to seven and a half years in prison.

Under the leadership of Willi Stoff, Heinz Hoffmann, other generals and officers, with the most active participation of the Soviet military command, the construction and development of the National People's Army of the GDR began, which quickly turned into the most combat-ready armed forces after the Soviet ones among the armies of the Warsaw Pact countries. Everyone who was involved in service in Eastern Europe in the 1960s - 1980s noted significantly more high level training, and most importantly, the morale of NPA military personnel in comparison with their colleagues from the armies of other socialist states. Although initially many Wehrmacht officers and even generals, who were the only military specialists in the country at that time, were initially recruited into the National People's Army of the GDR, the NPA officer corps was still significantly different from the Bundeswehr officer corps. Former Nazi generals were not so numerous in its composition and, most importantly, were not in key positions. A military education system was created, thanks to which it was possible to quickly train new officer cadres, up to 90% of whom came from working-class and peasant families.

The National People's Army of the GDR was assigned an important and difficult task in the event of an armed confrontation between the “Soviet Bloc” and Western countries. It was the NPA that had to directly enter into hostilities with the Bundeswehr formations and, together with units of the Soviet Army, ensure advancement into the territory of West Germany. It is no coincidence that NATO considered the NPA as one of the key and very dangerous opponents. Hatred towards the National People's Army of the GDR subsequently affected the attitude towards it former generals and officers already in a united Germany.

The most efficient army in Eastern Europe

The German Democratic Republic was divided into two military regions - the Southern Military District (MB-III) with headquarters in Leipzig, and the Northern Military District (MB-V) with headquarters in Neubrandenburg. In addition, the National People's Army of the GDR included one centrally subordinate artillery brigade. Each military district included two motorized divisions, one armored division and one missile brigade. The motorized division of the NNA of the GDR included: 3 motorized regiments, 1 armored tank regiment, 1 artillery regiment, 1 anti-aircraft missile regiment, 1 missile department, 1 engineering battalion, 1 logistics battalion, 1 sanitary battalion, 1 chemical defense battalion. Armor tank division included 3 armored tank regiments, 1 motorized regiment, 1 artillery regiment, 1 anti-aircraft missile regiment, 1 engineering battalion, 1 logistics battalion, 1 chemical defense battalion, 1 sanitary battalion, 1 reconnaissance battalion, 1 missile department. The missile brigade included 2-3 missile departments, 1 engineering company, 1 logistics company, 1 meteorological battery, 1 repair company. The artillery brigade included 4 artillery departments, 1 repair company and 1 logistics company. The NPA Air Force included 2 air divisions, each of which included 2-4 attack squadrons, 1 anti-aircraft missile brigade, 2 anti-aircraft missile regiments, 3-4 radio battalions.

The history of the GDR navy began in 1952, when units of the Maritime People's Police were created as part of the GDR Ministry of Internal Affairs. In 1956, the ships and personnel of the Maritime People's Police of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the GDR entered the created National People's Army and until 1960 bore the name of the Naval Forces of the GDR. The first commander of the GDR Navy was Rear Admiral Felix Scheffler (1915-1986). A former merchant sailor, he served in the Wehrmacht from 1937, but almost immediately, in 1941, he was captured by the Soviets, where he remained until 1947. In captivity, he joined the National Committee of Free Germany. After returning from captivity, he worked as secretary to the rector of the Karl Marx Higher Party School, then joined the marine police, where he was appointed chief of staff of the Main Directorate of Marine Police of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the GDR. On October 1, 1952, he was promoted to rear admiral, from 1955 to 1956. served as commander of the Maritime People's Police. After the creation of the Ministry of National Defense of the GDR, on March 1, 1956, he took over the position of commander of the GDR Navy and held this post until December 31, 1956. Later, he held a number of important posts in the naval command, was responsible for combat training of personnel, then for equipment and weapons, and retired in 1975 from the post of deputy fleet commander for logistics. As commander of the GDR Navy, Felix Scheffler was replaced by Vice Admiral Waldemar Ferner (1914-1982), a former underground communist who left Nazi Germany back in 1935, and after returning to the GDR, headed the Main Directorate of the Marine Police. From 1952 to 1955 Ferner served as commander of the Maritime People's Police of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the GDR, into which the Main Directorate of the Maritime Police was transformed. From January 1, 1957 to July 31, 1959, he commanded the GDR Navy, after which from 1959 to 1978. served as head of the Main Political Directorate of the National People's Army of the GDR. In 1961, it was Waldemar Ferner who was the first in the GDR to be awarded the rank of admiral - the highest rank in the country's naval forces. The longest-serving commander of the People's Navy of the GDR (as the GDR Navy was called since 1960) was Rear Admiral (then Vice Admiral and Admiral) Wilhelm Eim (1918-2009). A former prisoner of war who sided with the USSR, Eim returned to post-war Germany and quickly made a party career. In 1950, he began serving in the Main Directorate of the Marine Police of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the GDR - first as a liaison officer, and then as deputy chief of staff and head of the organizational department. In 1958-1959 Wilhelm Eim led the logistics service of the GDR Navy. On August 1, 1959, he was appointed commander of the GDR Navy, but from 1961 to 1963. studied at the Naval Academy in the USSR. Upon his return from the Soviet Union, the acting commander, Rear Admiral Heinz Norkirchen, again gave way to Wilhelm Eym. Eim served as commander until 1987.

In 1960, a new name was adopted - People's Navy. The GDR Navy became the most combat-ready after the Soviet naval forces of the Warsaw Pact countries. They were created taking into account the complex Baltic hydrography - after all, the only sea to which the GDR had access was the Baltic Sea. The low suitability of large ships for operations was determined by the predominance in the People's Navy of the GDR of high-speed torpedo and missile boats, anti-submarine boats, small missile ships, anti-submarine and anti-mine ships, and landing ships. The GDR had a fairly strong naval aviation, equipped with airplanes and helicopters. The People's Navy had to solve, first of all, the tasks of defending the country's coast, fighting enemy submarines and mines, landing tactical troops, and supporting ground forces on the coast. The Volksmarine personnel numbered approximately 16,000 troops. The GDR Navy was armed with 110 combat and 69 auxiliary ships and vessels, 24 naval aviation helicopters (16 Mi-8 and 8 Mi-14), 20 Su-17 fighter-bombers. The command of the GDR Navy was located in Rostock. The following structural units of the Navy were subordinate to him: 1) flotilla in Peenemünde, 2) flotilla in Rostock - Warnemünde, 3) flotilla in Dransk, 4) naval school. Karl Liebknecht in Stralsund, 5) naval school named after. Walter Steffens in Stralsund, 6) coastal missile regiment "Waldemar Werner" in Gelbenzand, 7) naval combat helicopter squadron "Kurt Barthel" in Parow, 8) naval aviation squadron "Paul Wiszorek" in Laga, 9) communications regiment "Johann Wesolek" in Böhlendorf, 10) communications and flight support battalion in Lag, 11) a number of other units and service units.

Until 1962, the National People's Army of the GDR was recruited by hiring volunteers, the contract was concluded for a period of three years. Thus, for six years the NPA remained the only professional army among the armies of the socialist countries. It is noteworthy that conscription was introduced in the GDR five years later than in the capitalist Federal Republic of Germany (where the army switched from contract to conscription in 1957). The number of the NPA was also inferior to the Bundeswehr - by 1990, 175,000 people served in the ranks of the NPA. The defense of the GDR was compensated by the presence of a huge contingent on the territory of the country Soviet troops- ZGV / GSVG (Western Group of Forces / Group of Soviet Forces in Germany). The training of NPA officers was carried out at the Friedrich Engels Military Academy, the Wilhelm Pieck Higher Military-Political School, specialized military educational institutions branches of troops. The National People's Army of the GDR introduced an interesting system of military ranks, partly duplicating the old ranks of the Wehrmacht, but partly containing obvious borrowings from the military rank system of the Soviet Union. The hierarchy of military ranks in the GDR looked like this (analogs of ranks in the Volksmarine - People's Navy are given in parentheses): I. Generals (admirals): 1) Marshal of the GDR - the rank was never awarded in practice; 2) General of the Army (Admiral of the Fleet) - in the ground forces the rank was assigned to senior officials, in the navy the rank was never assigned due to the small number of the Volksmarine; 3) Colonel General (Admiral); 4) Lieutenant General (Vice Admiral); 5) Major General (Rear Admiral); II. Officers: 6) Colonel (Captain zur See); 7) Lieutenant Colonel (Frigate Captain); 8) Major (Corvette-Captain); 9) Captain (Lieutenant Captain); 10) Oberleutnant (Oberleutnant zur See); 11) Lieutenant (Leutenant zur See); 12) Non-Commissioned Lieutenant (Unterleutnant zur See); III. Fenrichs (similar to Russian warrant officers): 13) Ober-Stabs-Fenrich (Ober-Stabs-Fenrich); 14) Stabs-Fenrich (Stabs-Fenrich); 15) Ober-Fenrich (Ober-Fenrich); 16) Fenrich (Fenrich); IVSergeants: 17) Staff Sergeant Major (Staff Obermeister); 18) Ober-sergeant-major (Ober-meister); 19) Feldwebel (Meister); 20) Non-commissioned sergeant major (Obermat); 21) Non-commissioned officer (Mate); V. Soldiers/sailors: 22) Staff-corporal (Staff-sailor); 23) Corporal (Chief Sailor); 24) Soldier (Sailor). Each branch of the army also had its own specific color in the edging of the shoulder straps. For generals of all branches of the military it was scarlet, motorized infantry units - white, artillery, missile troops and air defense units - brick, armored forces - pink, airborne troops - orange, signal troops - yellow, military construction troops - olive, engineering troops, chemical troops, topographical and motor transport services - black, rear units, military justice and medicine - dark green; air force (aviation) - blue, air force anti-aircraft missile forces - light gray, navy - blue, border service - green.

The sad fate of the NPA and its military personnel

The German Democratic Republic can rightfully be called the most loyal ally of the USSR in Eastern Europe. The National People's Army of the GDR remained the most combat-ready after Soviet army Warsaw Pact countries until the end of the 1980s. Unfortunately, the fate of both the GDR and its army turned out badly. East Germany ceased to exist as a result of the policy of “German unification” and the corresponding actions of the Soviet side. In fact, the GDR was simply given to the Federal Republic of Germany. The last Minister of National Defense of the GDR was Admiral Theodor Hofmann (born 1935). He already belongs to the new generation of GDR officers who received military education in military educational institutions of the republic. On May 12, 1952, Hofmann enlisted as a sailor in the Maritime People's Police of the GDR. In 1952-1955, he trained at the Naval People's Police Officer School in Stralsund, after which he was assigned to the position of combat training officer in the 7th Flotilla of the GDR Navy, then served as commander of a torpedo boat, and studied at the Naval Academy in the USSR. After returning from the Soviet Union, he held a number of command positions at Volksmarine: deputy commander and chief of staff of the 6th flotilla, commander of the 6th flotilla, deputy chief of the naval staff for operational work, deputy commander of the navy and chief of combat training. From 1985 to 1987 Rear Admiral Hofmann served as Chief of Staff of the GDR Navy, and in 1987-1989. - Commander of the GDR Navy and Deputy Minister of Defense of the GDR. In 1987, Hofmann was awarded the military rank of vice admiral, and in 1989, with appointment to the post of Minister of National Defense of the GDR - admiral. After the Ministry of National Defense of the GDR was abolished on April 18, 1990 and was replaced by the Ministry of Defense and Disarmament, headed by the democratic politician Rainer Eppelmann, Admiral Hofmann served as assistant minister and commander-in-chief of the National People's Army of the GDR until September 1990 . After the dissolution of the NPA he was dismissed from military service.

The Ministry of Defense and Disarmament was created after reforms began in the GDR, under pressure from the Soviet Union, where Mikhail Gorbachev had long been in power, affecting both military sphere. On March 18, 1990, the Minister of Defense and Disarmament was appointed - he became 47-year-old Rainer Eppelmann, a dissident and pastor in one of the evangelical parishes in Berlin. In his youth, Eppelman served 8 months in prison for refusing to serve in the National People's Army of the GDR, then received religious education and from 1975 to 1990. served as a pastor. In 1990, he became chairman of the Democratic Breakthrough Party and in this capacity was elected to the People's Chamber of the GDR, and was also appointed Minister of Defense and Disarmament.

October 3, 1990 occurred historical event- The Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic were reunited. However, in fact, this was not reunification, but simply the inclusion of the territories of the GDR into the Federal Republic of Germany, with the destruction of the administrative system that existed during the socialist period and its own armed forces. The National People's Army of the GDR, despite its high level of training, was not included in the Bundeswehr. The German authorities feared that the generals and officers of the NNA retained communist sentiments, so a decision was made to effectively disband the National People's Army of the GDR. Only privates and non-commissioned officers of conscript service were sent to serve in the Bundeswehr. Career servicemen were much less fortunate. All generals, admirals, officers, fennrichs and non-commissioned officers of the personnel were dismissed from military service. Total number dismissed - 23,155 officers and 22,549 non-commissioned officers. Almost none of them managed to be reinstated in service in the Bundeswehr; the vast majority were simply dismissed - and military service they did not count toward their military service record or even their civil service record. Only 2.7% of NNA officers and non-commissioned officers were able to continue serving in the Bundeswehr (mostly, these were technical specialists capable of maintaining Soviet equipment, which after the reunification of Germany went to the Federal Republic of Germany), but they received ranks lower than those they held in the National People's Army - Germany refused to recognize the military ranks of the NPA.

Veterans of the National People's Army of the GDR, left without pensions and without taking into account military experience, were forced to look for low-paid and low-skilled work. The right-wing parties of the Federal Republic of Germany also opposed their right to wear the military uniform of the National People's Army - the armed forces of a “totalitarian state,” as the GDR is assessed in modern Germany. As for military equipment, the vast majority were either disposed of or sold to third countries. Thus, Volksmarine combat boats and ships were sold to Indonesia and Poland, and some were transferred to Latvia, Estonia, Tunisia, Malta, and Guinea-Bissau. The reunification of Germany did not lead to its demilitarization. American troops are still stationed on the territory of the Federal Republic of Germany, and Bundeswehr units now take part in armed conflicts around the world - ostensibly as peacekeeping forces, but in reality - defending US interests.

Currently, many former soldiers of the National People's Army of the GDR are part of public veteran organizations involved in protecting the rights of former officers and NPA non-commissioned officers, as well as the fight against discrediting and denigrating the history of the GDR and the National People's Army. In the spring of 2015, in honor of the seventieth anniversary of the Great Victory, over 100 generals, admirals and senior officers of the National People's Army of the GDR signed a letter - an appeal "Soldiers for Peace", in which they warned Western countries against the policy of escalating conflicts in modern world and confrontation with Russia. “We do not need military agitation against Russia, but mutual understanding and peaceful coexistence. We do not need military dependence on the United States, but our own responsibility for peace,” the appeal says. Among the first signatures of the appeal are the last ministers of national defense of the GDR - Army General Heinz Kessler and Admiral Theodor Hofmann.

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National People's Army (NNA, Volksarmee, Nationale Volksarmee, NVA) - the armed forces of the GDR, which were created in 1956 and consisted of three types of control bodies:

Creation [ | ]

On November 12, 1955, the German government announced the creation armed forces Germany (Bundeswehr).

Started work in 1959 Military Academy named after F. Engels.

In 1961, the first command post exercises of the NNA of the GDR and the Soviet Army were held.

Until 1962, it was recruited and NPA formations were not present in East Berlin.

In October 1962, the first NPA maneuvers took place in the territories of the GDR and Poland, in which Polish and Soviet troops took part.

On September 9-12, 1963, the international military exercise “Quartet” was held in the south of the GDR, in which the NNA of the GDR, Soviet, Polish and Czechoslovak troops took part.

Despite its relatively small numbers, the National People's Army of the GDR was the most combat-ready army in Western Europe.

Doctrine [ | ]

NPA honor guard

Each tank division ( Panzerdivision) consisted of 3 tank regiments (Panzerregiment), one artillery regiment (Artillerieregiment), 1 motorized rifle regiment (Mot.-Schützenregiment), 1 anti-aircraft missile regiment (Fla-Raketen-Regiment), 1 engineer battalion (Pionierbataillon), 1 material battalion support (Bataillon materieller Sicherstellung), 1 chemical defense battalion (Bataillon chemischer Abwehr), 1 sanitary battalion (Sanitätsbataillon), 1 reconnaissance battalion (Aufklärungsbataillon), 1 missile department (Raketenabteilung).

Each motorized rifle division ( Motorisierte Schützendivision (Mot.-Schützen-Division)) consisted of 3 motorized rifle regiments (Mot.-Schützenregiment), 1 tank regiment (Panzerregiment), 1 artillery regiment (Artillerieregiment), 1 anti-aircraft missile regiment (Fla-Raketenregiment), 1 missile department (Raketenabteilung), 1 engineer battalion ( Pionierbataillon), 1 material support battalion (Bataillon materieller Sicherstellung), 1 sanitary battalion (Sanitätsbataillon), 1 chemical defense battalion (Bataillon chemischer Abwehr).

Each missile brigade ( Raketenbrigade) consisted of 2-3 missile divisions (Raketenabteilung), 1 engineering company (Pionierkompanie), 1 logistics company (Kompanie materieller Sicherstellung), 1 meteorological battery (meteorologische Batterie), 1 repair company (Instandsetzungskompanie).

Artillery Brigade ( Artillerie brigade) consisted of 4 divisions ( Abteilung), 1 repair company (Instandsetzungskompanie), 1 logistics company ( Kompanie materieller Sicherstellung).

By 1990, in service with the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of the GDR (German. Landstreitkräfte der Nationalen Volksarmee) was located:

Air Force[ | ]

In 1990, the GDR Air Force included:

Navy[ | ]

Compound [ | ]

Of all the small fleets of the USSR allied countries under the Warsaw Pact, the Navy of the National People's Army of the GDR in the late 1980s. was the most combat-ready. It was based on modern ships that entered service in the 1970-1980s.

In total, by the time of the reunification of Germany in 1990, it consisted of 110 warships of various classes and 69 auxiliary vessels. The naval aviation included 24 helicopters (16 Mi-8 type and 8 Mi-14 type), as well as 20 Su-17 fighter-bombers. The number of personnel in the Navy is about 16 thousand people.

The largest ships in the GDR Navy were three patrol ships (SKR) of the Rostock type (Project 1159), built in the USSR at the Zelenodolsk shipyard in 1978, 1979 and 1986, respectively.

The basis of the anti-submarine forces was 16 small anti-submarine ships (MPC) of the Parchim type, Project 133.1. The ships were built from 1980 to 1985 at the Peenewerft shipyard in Wolgast according to a project developed in the GDR with the help of Soviet specialists on the basis of MPK pr.1124. In 1986-1990 12 MPKs of this type were built for the USSR according to the modernized project 133.1-M.

Another example of cooperation between the Soviet Union and East Germany in the field of military shipbuilding was the construction in the GDR of Soviet project(project 151) missile boats (RKA) with a total displacement of 380 tons, which were planned to be armed with eight of the latest Uran anti-ship missiles (ASM) (production of anti-ship missiles under a Soviet license was planned to be deployed in the GDR). It was assumed that this RKA would enter service with the fleets of the Warsaw Pact member countries. Before the unification of Germany, only two boats of this type were built, four more were in varying degrees of readiness. To replace the outdated Project 205 missile boats (in the late 1980s, all 12 missile launch vehicles of this project were put into reserve), the GDR Navy received five Project 1241-RE missile boats from the USSR. These boats (developed by the Almaz Central Design Bureau on the basis of Project 1241.1-T) have been built for export by the Yaroslavl shipyards since 1980. A total of 22 RCAs were built for Bulgaria, the GDR, India, Yemen, Poland and Romania. The GDR Navy also included six large torpedo boats, Project 206, built in the USSR in 1968-1976.

Only in the GDR Navy there was such a class of ships as ultra-small (with a displacement of 28 tons) TKA type "Libelle" ( further development TKA type "Iltis") with trough torpedo tubes for 533 mm torpedoes. The torpedo was fired backwards - just as the Soviet G-5 type TKA did in 1930-1940. The East German fleet had thirty Libelle-class TKAs.

The amphibious forces included 12 landing ships (DC) of the Hoyerswerda type (with a total displacement of 2000 tons), designed and built in 1974-1980. in the GDR. Two more ships of this type were converted into supply transports.

The GDR Navy had quite a large mine-sweeping force. Since 1969, the construction of base minesweepers (BTS) of the Greiz type (Kondor II) has been underway. The East German fleet received 26 ships of this type, another 18 units were completed in the version of the border TFR (Kondor I type) for the Coast Guard (Grenzebrigade Kuste). Five main ships were converted into rescue and training vessels.

The auxiliary fleet included 69 vessels for various purposes. These were mainly modern ships of relatively small displacement, built at national shipyards, as well as in the USSR and Poland.

After German reunification[ | ]

Correspondence of the colors of the edging of the shoulder straps to the branches of the military:

Land Forces (Landstreitkräfte)[ | ]

Air Force (Luftstreitkräfte)[ | ]

Navy (Volksmarine)[ | ]

Border Troops (Grenztruppen)[ | ]

The 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 entrenched 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 GDR army

The East German Army was created in 1956. It consisted of 3 branches of the military: ground, navy, and 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 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 subsections of the NPA took the military oath. In 1959, the F. Engels Military Academy opened, where young people are trained for future service. She played an important role in the formation of a strong and combat-ready army, since the training system was thought out to the smallest detail. However, it should be noted that until 1962, the GDR army was replenished by hire.

The GDR included Saxon and Prussian lands, where the most militant Germans had previously lived. It was they who contributed to the fact 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 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.

Activity

The GDR army began its active work since 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 a large-scale event called “Quartet,” in which the NPA, Polish, Czechoslovak and Soviet troops participated.

Despite the fact that the GDR army was not at all impressive in terms of numbers, 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 F. Engels Academy. Those who joined the mercenary army were trained in all 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 army organization were based on the denial of all postulates of the Prussian-German military. An important point of the doctrine was the strengthening of defense forces to protect the country's socialist system. The importance of cooperation with the armies of the socialist allied countries was separately 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 classic military traditions of Germany. 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 attacks by other countries. In addition, it was indicated that all efforts would be devoted to protecting and strengthening the socialist system of the state. To maintain its power, the army maintained close contact with other armies.

Numerical expression

By 1987, the national army of the GDR numbered 120 thousand soldiers. The army's ground forces consisted of 9 air defense regiments, 1 air support regiment, 2 anti-tank battalions, 10 artillery regiments, etc. The GDR army, which had sufficient weapons, defeated the enemy with its ability to handle its resources, cohesion and a thoughtful tactical approach.

Preparation

The training of soldiers took place in the highest officer schools, which were attended by almost all young people. The previously mentioned F. Engels Academy, which graduated professionals in their field, was especially popular. By 1973, the army consisted of 90% peasants and workers.

Structure in the army

The territory of Germany was divided into 2 military districts, which were controlled by 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 about creating our own form. It was invented, but it was very reminiscent of the Nazi uniform. The government's justification was that the required quantity of such uniforms was in warehouses, that its 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 uniform should be associated with the 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 visiting Prague, half of the Czechs fled in different directions when they saw the uniform of soldiers with helmets and wicker shoulder straps.

The GDR army, whose uniform was not very original, had a pronounced color differentiation. Members of the Navy wore clothing of blue color. The air services of the Air Force wore light blue, while the air defense and anti-aircraft missile forces wore light gray uniforms. you should 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 clothing, 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) wore dark green uniforms.

Equipment

The equipment of the GDR army was quite significant. There was almost no shortage of weapons, since the Soviet Union supplied large quantities of modern military equipment at an affordable price. Sniper rifles were quite developed and widespread in the GDR. The ministry itself state security The GDR placed an order for the creation of such weapons to strengthen the positions of anti-terrorist groups.

Army in Czechoslovakia

The GDR army invaded Czechoslovakia in 1968, and from that time on the worst period for the Czechs began. The invasion took place with the help of troops from all countries participating in the Warsaw Pact. The goal was the occupation of the territory of the state, and the reason was a reaction to a series of reforms that were called the “Prague Spring”. It is difficult to know the exact number of deaths, since many archives remain closed.

The GDR army in Czechoslovakia was distinguished by its composure and some cruelty. Eyewitnesses of those events recalled that the soldiers treated the population without sentimentality, not paying attention to the sick, wounded and children. Mass terror and unreasonable harshness - this is how one 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 bullying of the Czechs on the orders of the high command.

If we 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 was concentrated at the borders of the state. There is no justification for the atrocities of the GDR National Army, but one must take into account the mental stress, fatigue and sense of guilt with which the Germans marched on Prague. The number of deaths, as well as how many of them were actual accidents, remains a mystery.

Composition of the GDR Navy

The army of the GDR was the most powerful of all the allied countries of the USSR. He owned modern ships that came into use in the 1970-1980s. At the time of German reunification, the navy had 110 ships and 69 auxiliary vessels. They had different purposes, but were modern and equipped. The ships were built at national shipyards in the USSR and Poland. The air force had at its disposal 24 equipped helicopters. The Navy personnel was approximately 16 thousand people.

The most powerful were 3 ships built 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, Germany was reunified. By this time, the size 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 personnel, and their length of service was cancelled. The personnel were gradually dismissed. Some of the military were able to return to the Bundeswehr, but received only lower positions there.

If the military was considered unfit to serve in the new army, then a logical explanation can still be found for this. They were raised in a certain way, their focus was the opposite of the goals of a united Germany. It is quite strange that the new government decided to sell or dispose of most of the military equipment. The German leadership was actively looking for wealthy sellers to sell the still modern technology expensive. Some of the ships were transferred to the Indonesian fleet.

The US government became very interested in the Soviet technology of Germany and hastened to acquire some of it for itself. Most Interest called a boat, which was taken to the US Naval 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. As a result, it was recognized that such RKAs pose a great threat to the US Navy.

It is interesting that not 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 GDR navy, whose ships can be found in 8 different states.

Disappointment

After the unification of Germany, the country rejoiced, but thousands of officers of the former people's army were abandoned to their fate. The GDR army, photos of which are presented in the article, was confused, disappointed and angry. Only recently, soldiers represented the elite of society, but now they have become scum, whom they did not want to hire. Quite soon, the population of the country itself realized that it was not the unification of Germany that had occurred, but an actual absorption by its western neighbor.

Former military men stood in line at stock exchanges to get any job to feed themselves and their families. All that employees (with higher and lower ranks) of the GDR received after unification was discrimination and humiliation in all spheres of life.

Ranking system

In the NNA, the rank system consisted of Ranks and insignia 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. 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 division 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 to be such that the soldiers did not have the opportunity to show all their strength and power, since this was prevented by the unification of Germany, which led to the complete collapse of the NPA.

After the division of Germany into the Federal Republic of Germany and the GDR, the city of Berlin was entirely located on the territory of the GDR, but was also divided into Soviet and Anglo-American-French regions.occupation sectors.In 1948, the allies, regardless of the opinion of the Soviet administration, began carrying out monetary reform. The reform is carried out under rather strict conditions, and residents of West Berlin, taking advantageby chance, they shop money in the east noy part of the city, wherethey were in circulation. Food and essential goods began to disappear from the shelves quite quickly. Soviet administration, shockedfrom this turn of events and introducesa ban on movement between the western and eastern parts of the city.The reaction of the Western leadership was unequivocal - the Russians want to create a famine in Berlin, and we prevented them - and they called for noreceive foodin Soviet

sector, and wait for the bombardment of raisins by the hawks of democracy. It got to the point that the Western administration persecuted those citizens who received food in the east, and the British created barbed wire fences on the border of the British and Soviet sectors - 13 years before the appearance ofconcrete wall. And it is still widely believed both among them and among us that

If it weren’t for the air bridge, the unfortunate Berl would have died The Indians are starving.

After Germany's defeat in World War II, by the decision of the Conference of the Heads of Government of Great Britain, the USSR and the USA, held in Potsdam from July 17 to August 2, 1945, it was prohibited to have an Armed Forces and the Wehrmacht was dissolved. However, with the fall of the Hitler regime, the common political goals of yesterday's allies also disappeared. The USSR on the one hand and the coalition represented by the USA, Great Britain and France on the other hand began to pursue their own policies towards Germany. As a result of this, by 1949, two German states emerged on the territory of the former Third Reich. The Federal Republic of Germany (DBR) is formed from the American, British and French occupation zones. The Soviet zone of occupation becomes the German Democratic Republic (DDR).

The Paris Agreements of the USA, Great Britain and France of 1954 and the decision of the May 1955 Session of the NATO Council of the Federal Republic of Germany allowed the creation of the Armed Forces. By the end of the year, the German army under the name Bundeswehr (Die Bundeswehr) already exists in reality.

In response, the USSR in 1956 allowed the GDR to recreate its Armed Forces. These forces are called the National People's Army (Volksarmee der DDR). Years of existence: March 1, 1956 - October 2, 1990. On November 12, 1955, the German government announced the creation of the Bundeswehr.

Having learned about the creation of the Bundeswehr, the East German comrades were also forced to create their own army in 1956. On January 18, 1956, the People's Chamber of the GDR adopted the Law on the creation of the National People's Army (NPA) and the formation of the Ministry of National Defense. March 1, 1956, when the first units of the NPA took the military oath, was celebrated as National People's Army (NPA) Day. Until 1962, it was recruited and NPA formations were not present in East Berlin.

Its main part consisted of former soldiers and Wehrmacht officers who underwent denazification. The Bundeswehr basically copied uniforms, ranks and other procedures from the West into its own

Lastly, in the NNA of the GDR, part of the orders, including uniforms and paraphernalia (epaulets, cockades, belts, etc.), remained from the Wehrmacht or from old Prussia, the rank system was partially borrowed from the USSR.

The NPA was formed in 1956 from the so-called. “barracks police”, which was part of the structure of the People’s Police and consisted of three branches of the military:

Land Forces (Landstreitkräfte);

Navy (Volksmarine);

Air Force (English)Russian. (Luftstreitkräfte der Nationalen Volksarmee)

Article 7.2 of the 1968 GDR Constitution stated:

The German Democratic Republic organizes the defense of the country, as well as the protection of the socialist system and the peaceful life of its citizens. The National People's Army and other national defense organs protect the socialist gains of the people from all attacks from outside. In the interests of preserving peace and ensuring the security of the socialist state, the National People's Army maintains close military brotherhood with the armies of the Soviet Union and other socialist states.

As of 1987, the ground forces of the NNA of the GDR numbered 120,000 military personnel
employees. Included 2 armored divisions, 4 motorized divisions, 2 brigades of surface-to-surface missiles, 10 artillery regiments, 9 air defense regiments, 1 air support regiment, 2 anti-tank battalions and other support units. Officer training was carried out at higher officer schools and at the Military Academy named after. Friedrich Engels. In 1973, by social origin, about 90% of officers and generals came from workers and peasants.

Structure

The territory of East Germany was divided into two military districts - MB-III (South, headquartered in Leipzig) and MB-V (North, headquartered in Neubrandenburg) and one artillery brigade, which was not part of any of the military districts, in each of which included two motorized divisions (motorisierte schützendivision, MSD), one armored division (panzerdivision, PD) and one missile brigade (raketenbrigade, RBr).

Each armored division consisted of 3 armored regiments (Panzerregiment), one artillery regiment (Artillerieregiment), 1 motorized rifle regiment (Mot.-Schützenregiment), 1 anti-aircraft missile regiment (Fla-Raketen-Regiment), 1 engineer battalion (Pionierbataillon), 1 logistics battalion (Bataillon Materielle Sicherstellung), 1st battalion

chemical defense (Bataillon Chemische Abwehr), 1 sanitary battalion (Sanitätsbataillon), 1 reconnaissance battalion (Aufklärungsbataillon), 1 missile department (Raketenabteilung).

Each motorized rifle division consisted of 3 motorized regiments (Mot.-Schützenregiment), 1 armored regiment (Panzerregiment), 1 artillery regiment (Artillerieregim

ent), 1 anti-aircraft missile regiment (Fla-Raketenregiment), 1 missile department (Raketenabteilung), 1 engineer battalion (Pionierbataillon), 1 logistics battalion (Bataillon Materielle Sicherstellung), 1 sanitary battalion (Sanitätsbataillon), 1 chemical defense battalion ( Bataillon Chemische Abwehr), 1st logistics battalion (Bataillon Materielle Sicherstellung).

Each missile brigade consisted of 2-3 missile departments (Raketenabteilung), 1 engineering company (Pionierkompanie), 1 logistics company (Kompanie materielle Sicherstellung), 1 meteorological battery (meteorologischen Batterie), 1 repair company (Instandsetzungskompanie).

The artillery brigade consisted of 4 departments (Abteilung), 1 repair company (Instandsetzungskompanie), 1 logistics company (Kompanie materielle Sicherstellung).

The air force consisted of 2 divisions (Luftverteidigungsdivision), each of which consisted of 2-4 attack squadrons (Jagdfliegergeschwader), 1 anti-aircraft missile brigade (Fla-Raketenbrigade), 2 anti-aircraft missile regiments (Fla-Raketenregiment), 3- 4 radio engineering battalions (Funktechnisches Bataillon).

East German Navy

Of all the small fleets of the USSR allied countries under the Warsaw Pact, the Navy of the National People's Army of the GDR in the late 1980s. was the most combat-ready. It was based on modern ships that entered service in the 1970-1980s. In total, by the time of the reunification of Germany in 1990, it consisted of 110 warships of various classes and 69 auxiliary vessels. The naval aviation included 24 helicopters (16 Mi-8 type and 8 Mi-14 type), as well as 20 Su-17 fighter-bombers. The number of personnel in the Navy is about 16 thousand people.

The largest ships in the GDR Navy were three patrol ships (SKR) of the Rostock type (Project 1159), built in the USSR at the Zelenodolsk shipyard in 1978, 1979 and 1986, respectively.

The basis of the anti-submarine forces was 16 small anti-submarine ships (MPC) of the Parchim type, Project 133.1. The ships were built from 1980 to 1985 at the Peenewerft shipyard in Wolgast according to a project developed in the GDR with the help of Soviet specialists on the basis of MPK pr.1124. In 1986-1990 12 MPKs of this type were built for the USSR according to the modernized project 133.1-M.

An example of cooperation between the Soviet Union and East Germany in the field of military shipbuilding was the construction in the GDR according to the Soviet project (Project 151) of missile boats (RKA) with a total displacement of 380 tons, which were planned to be armed with eight of the latest anti-ship missiles (ASM) "Uran" (anti-ship missile production according to the Soviet license was planned to be deployed in the GDR). It was assumed that this RKA would enter service with the fleets of the Warsaw Pact member countries. Before the unification of Germany, only two boats of this type were built, four more were found
or in varying degrees of readiness. To replace the outdated Project 205 missile boats (in the late 1980s, all 12 missile launch vehicles of this project were put into reserve), the GDR Navy received five Project 1241-RE missile boats from the USSR. These boats (developed by the Almaz Central Design Bureau on the basis of Project 1241.1-T) have been built for export by the Rybinsk and Yaroslavl shipyards since 1980. A total of 22 RCAs were built for Bulgaria, the GDR, India, Yemen, Poland and Romania. The GDR Navy also included six large torpedo boats, Project 206, built in the USSR in 1968-1976.

Only in the GDR Navy there was such a class of ships as ultra-small (displacing 28 tons) Libelle type TKA (a further development of the Iltis type TKA) with trough torpedo tubes for 533 mm torpedoes. The torpedo was fired backwards - just as the Soviet G-5 type TKA did in 1930-1940. The East German fleet had thirty Libelle-class TKAs.

The amphibious forces included 12 amphibious ships (DC) of the "Howerswerda" type (with a total displacement of 2000 tons), designed and built in 1974-1980. in the GDR. Two more ships of this type were converted into supply transports.

The GDR Navy had quite a large mine-sweeping force. Since 1969, the construction of base minesweepers (BTS) of the Greiz type (Kondor II) has been underway. The East German fleet received 26 ships of this type, another 18 units were completed in the version of the border TFR (Kondor I type) for the Coast Guard (Grenzebrigade Kuste). Five main ships were converted into rescue and training vessels.

The auxiliary fleet included 69 vessels for various purposes. These were mainly modern ships of relatively small displacement, built at national shipyards, as well as in the USSR and Poland.

On October 3, 1990, the NPA consisted of 88,800 people (among them 23,155 officers and 22,549 non-commissioned officers). On October 3, 1990, the German Democratic Republic and the Federal Republic of Germany were reunified. However, the GDR army was not included in the Bundeswehr, but was actually disbanded.

On the territory of the former GDR, a temporary joint command of the Bundeswehr “Ost” (East) was formed, which assumed the role of a liquidation commission. The military ranks of NNA officers were not recognized by the Bundeswehr, which actually stripped them of their ranks, and service in the GDR army was not recognized for either military or civilian work experience. Conscript personnel were gradually dismissed, a number of officers after appropriate Verki were accepted into service in the Bundeswehr. NNA officers accepted into service in the Bundeswehr received lower ranks. The NPA generals were dismissed from service by GDR Minister of Disarmament and Defense Rainer Eppelmann on 2 October.

Armament and equipment, with rare exceptions (in particular, MiG-29 fighters), were supposed to be sold to other countries or disposed of. The entire fleet of the former GDR was concentrated in Rostock and awaited its fate. The oldest ships that required repairs were immediately scrapped. The German government was intensively looking for buyers, hoping to profitably sell the most modern combat units.

All 16 Parchim-class MPKs were bought by Indonesia in 1992, the ships, after re-equipment and crew training, gradually moved to the Indonesian port of Surabaya (in 1996, the Zelenodolsk Design Bureau proposed to the command of the Indonesian Navy a project to modernize these ships to the level of MPK Project 133.1-M) . In addition, Indonesia acquired 9 Kondor II type BTSCs and all 12 Hoyerswerda type DCs, as well as two supply transports converted from DCs.

Of all the inheritance received by the Federal Republic of Germany, the greatest interest was caused by RKA pr.1241-RE. Considering that among the buyers of Soviet weapons there are unfriendly US government, the command of the US Navy decided to thoroughly study the boat. The choice fell on RKA "Hiddensee" (formerly "Rudolf Egelhofter"). In December 1991, he arrived in the United States on the deck of a transport ship and was assigned to the US Navy Research Center in Solomon (Maryland). The boat was subjected to comprehensive testing according to a special program. American experts highly appreciated the design of the ship's hull, its performance and maneuverability, but they noted the insufficient (by American standards) service life of the propulsion and afterburning gas turbines, and traditionally criticized electronic weapons. The low combat effectiveness of the P-20 missiles (export modification of the P-15 Termit) was also noted; the six-barreled AK-630 gun received a good rating. In general, it was concluded that missiles of this type, armed with more modern anti-ship missiles “Moskit” (Project 12411, 12421) or “Uran” (Project 12418), pose a fairly serious danger to ships of the US Navy and their allies.

The remaining four RCAs remained in Rostock. Periodically, reports appeared about the desire of Poland, which has four similar boats, to purchase two more from Germany. Having profitably sold most of the modern ships to Indonesia, the German government began to actually give away the rest. So, in 1993-1994. a decision was made to transfer three, and Estonia - nine, converted Project 205 boats (the P-15 anti-ship missile launchers were removed from them). Some of the boats have already been handed over. Latvia also received two BTSCs of the Kondor II type. Germany also generously distributed border TFRs of the “Kondor I” type: four units to Tunisia, two to Malta, one to Guinea-Bissau, two (in 1994) to Estonia.

The least fortunate were the three TFR Project 1159 - not finding a buyer, the Bundesmarine command sold them for scrap.

Not a single warship of the GDR Navy entered the German Navy. Three of the newest boats, Project 151 (one was completed in Germany, three were sold in an unfinished state to Poland) were re-equipped and included in the Coast Guard (Bundesgrenzschutz-See) of the Federal Republic of Germany, along with three border TFRs of the “Kondor I” type.

This is how the GDR fleet ended its existence, whose ships now sail under the flags of eight states.

The National People's Army (NPA) of the GDR was one of the most combat-ready armies not only of the Eastern Bloc of the Warsaw Pact, but of all of Europe at the time Cold War. An army that awed not only its Western brethren from Germany, but also the entire NATO bloc. In 1973, by social origin, about 90% of officers and generals came from workers and peasants. From point of view intellectual preparation The NPA personnel also stood at a high level: by the mid-80s, 95 percent of its officer corps had a higher or secondary specialized education, about 30 percent of officers graduated from military academies, 35 percent from higher military schools.

Mikhail Gorbachev's rise to power in 1985 complicated relations between the two countries - Honecker, being a conservative, had a negative attitude towards perestroika. And this is against the backdrop of the fact that in the GDR the attitude towards Gorbachev as the initiator of reforms was enthusiastic. In addition, at the end of the 80s, a mass exodus of GDR citizens to Germany began. Gorbachev made it clear to his East German counterpart that Soviet aid to the GDR directly depended on Berlin's implementation of reforms.

In 1989, Honecker was removed from all posts, a year later the GDR was absorbed by West Germany, and a year later the Soviet Union ceased to exist. The Russian leadership hastened to withdraw from Germany a group of almost half a million, equipped with 12 thousand tanks and armored vehicles, which became an unconditional geopolitical and geostrategic defeat and accelerated the entry of yesterday’s allies of the USSR under the Warsaw Pact into NATO.

But all these are dry lines about relatively recently past events, behind which is the drama of thousands of NPA officers and their families. With sadness in their eyes and pain in their hearts they looked at the last parade Russian troops August 31, 1994 in Berlin. Betrayed, humiliated, useless to anyone, they witnessed the departure of the once allied army, which lost the Cold War with them without firing a single shot.

After the reunification of Germany in 1990, the fate of NPA officers was unenviable. The GDR army did not become part of the Bundeswehr, but was actually destroyed. The NPA generals were fired. The military ranks of NNA officers were not recognized by the Bundeswehr; in fact, they were stripped of their ranks, and service in the East German army was not recognized for either military or civilian work experience. And subsequently, many specialists who serviced the military equipment adopted by the Bundeswehr, which previously belonged to the NPA, were fired. Officers received lower ranks. And the majority of NPA personnel were not accepted into the Bundeswehr at all. In this way, the leadership of the new Germany insured itself against ideological dissent in the ranks of the “renewed” Bundeswehr.

And just five years earlier, Gorbachev promised not to abandon the GDR to its fate. After Honecker's dismissal, the leadership of the GDR demonstrated neither the will nor the determination to save the country and take truly effective measures for this that would allow the reunification of Germany on an equal basis.At the same time, neither France nor Great Britain considered the issue of German reunification urgent. INIn Paris they were afraid of a strong and united Germany, which had twice crushed the military power of France in less than a century, and didn't want to to see a united and strong Germany at its borders.

In turn, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher adhered to a political line aimed at maintaining the balance of power between NATO and the Warsaw Pact, as well as compliance with the terms of the Final Act in Helsinki, the rights and responsibilities of the four states for post-war Germany. Against this background, it does not seem accidental that London’s desire to develop cultural and economic ties with the GDR, and when it became obvious that the unification of Germany was inevitable, the British leadership proposed extending this process for 10–15 years. Moreover, German Chancellor Helmut Kohl was not initially the initiator of West Germany’s absorption of its eastern neighbor, but advocated the creation of a confederation, putting forward a ten-point program to implement his idea. Thus, in 1990, the Kremlin and Berlin had every chance to realize the idea once proposed by Stalin: the creation of a united, but neutral and non-NATO Germany. The preservation of a limited contingent of Soviet, American, British and French troops on the territory of a united Germany would become a guarantor of German neutrality, and the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany created on an equal basis would not allow the spread of pro-Western sentiments in the army and would not turn former NPA officers into outcasts.

Personality factor

All this was quite feasible in practice and met the foreign policy interests of both London and Paris, and Moscow and Berlin. So why did Gorbachev and his circle, who had the opportunity to rely on the support of France and England in defending the GDR, did not do this and easily went for the absorption of their eastern neighbor by West Germany, ultimately changing the balance of power in Europe in favor of NATO? The reunification of two independent German states is one thing, the Anschluss, that is, the absorption of the GDR into the Federal Republic, is another. It is one thing to overcome the division of Germany as a fundamental step towards eliminating the division of Europe. Another is the transfer of the leading edge of the continental split from the Elbe to the Oder or further to the east.

Crash The GDR, and the socialist camp as a whole,like the collapse of the Soviet Union, a vivid example of the fact that the determining factor in history is not some objective processes, but the role of the individual. The entire past of mankind indisputably testifies to this. The French would never have brought most of Europe to their knees if Napoleon had not been their emperor. And there would not have been an October coup in Russia, the most shameful in the history of the country of the Brest-Litovsk Peace,The Bolsheviks would not have won the Civil War if not for the personality of Vladimir Lenin. All these are just the most striking examples, indisputably testifying to the decisive role of the individual in history.

Nothing like thiscould not have happened in Eastern Europe if Yuri Andropov had been at the head of the Soviet Union. A person with a strong will in the area foreign policy he invariably proceeded from the geopolitical interests of the country, and they required maintaining a military presence in Central Europe and comprehensively strengthening the combat power of the NPA, regardless of the attitude of the Americans and their allies to this. The scale of the personality of Gorbachev and his immediate circle did not correspond to the complex of complex domestic and foreign policy problems that the Soviet Union faced. One of the characteristics of weak politicians is inconsistency in following the chosen course. This happened with Gorbachev: in December 1989, at the Plenum of the CPSU Central Committee, he unequivocally stated that the Soviet Union would not abandon the GDR to its fate. A year later, the Kremlin allowed West Germany to carry out the Anschluss of its eastern neighbor. Kohl also felt the political weakness of the Soviet leadership during his visit to Moscow in February 1990, since it was after this that he began to more energetically pursue a course towards the reunification of Germany and, most importantly, began to insist on maintaining its membership in NATO.

And as a result: in modern Germany the number of American troops exceeds 50 thousand soldiers and officers, stationed including on the territory of the former GDR, and the NATO military machine is deployed near the Russian borders. And in the event of a military conflict, the perfectly prepared and trained officers of the former NPA will no longer be able to help us. And they’re unlikely to want to...

As for England and France, their fears regarding the unification of Germany were not in vain: the latter quickly took leading positions in the European Union, strengthened its strategic and economic position in Central and Eastern Europe, gradually displacing British capital from there.

A selection of documentaries dedicated to the GDR army. All films are in German.

1. Der Schlag hat gesessen 1961

2. Auf Wacht an der Staatsgrenze 1979

Exactly sixty years ago, on January 18, 1956, the decision was made to create the National People's Army of the German Democratic Republic (NPA GDR). Although the Day of the National People's Army was officially celebrated on March 1, since it was on this day in 1956 that the first military units of the GDR took the oath, in reality the history of the NPA can be counted precisely from January 18, when the People's Chamber of the GDR adopted the Law on the National People's Army of the GDR. Having existed for 34 years, until the unification of Germany in 1990, the National People's Army of the GDR went down in history as one of the most combat-ready armies of post-war Europe. Among the socialist countries, it was second after the Soviet Army in terms of training and was considered the most reliable among the armies of the Warsaw Pact countries.
Actually, the history of the National People's Army of the GDR began after West Germany began to form its own armed forces. In the post-war years, the Soviet Union pursued a much more peaceful policy than its Western opponents. Therefore, for a long time, the USSR sought to comply with the agreements and was in no hurry to arm East Germany. As is known, according to the decision of the Conference of the Heads of Government of Great Britain, the USSR and the USA, held from July 17 to August 2, 1945 in Potsdam, Germany was prohibited from having its own armed forces. But after the end of World War II, relations between yesterday's allies - the USSR on the one hand, the USA and Great Britain on the other, began to rapidly deteriorate and soon became extremely tense. The capitalist countries and the socialist camp found themselves on the brink of armed confrontation, which actually provided grounds for violating the agreements that were reached during the victory over Nazi Germany. By 1949, the Federal Republic of Germany was created on the territory of the American, British and French occupation zones, and the German Democratic Republic was created on the territory of the Soviet occupation zone. The first to militarize “their” part of Germany—the Federal Republic of Germany—were Great Britain, the United States, and France.
In 1954, the Paris Agreements were concluded, the secret part of which provided for the creation of West Germany's own armed forces. Despite the protests of the West German population, which saw the re-creation of the country's armed forces as an increase in revanchist and militaristic sentiments and feared a new war, on November 12, 1955, the German government announced the creation of the Bundeswehr. Thus began the history of the West German army and the history of the almost undisguised confrontation between the “two Germanys” in the field of defense and weapons. After the decision to create the Bundeswehr, the Soviet Union had no choice but to “give the go-ahead” to the formation of its own army and the German Democratic Republic.

The history of the National People's Army of the GDR has become a unique example of a strong military partnership between the Russian and German armies, which in the past fought more with each other than cooperated. We should not forget that the high combat capability of the NPA was explained by the inclusion of Prussia and Saxony in the GDR - lands from which the bulk of the German officers had long originated. It turns out that it was the NNA, and not the Bundeswehr, that largely inherited the historical traditions of the German armies, but this experience was put at the service of military cooperation between the GDR and the Soviet Union.
Barracks People's Police - predecessor of the NPA
It should be noted that in fact the creation of armed units, the service of which was based on military discipline, began in the GDR even earlier. In 1950, the People's Police was created as part of the Ministry of the Interior of the GDR, as well as two main departments - the Main Directorate of the Air Police and the Main Directorate of the Maritime Police. In 1952, on the basis of the Main Directorate of Combat Training of the People's Police of the GDR, the Barracks People's Police was created, which was an analogue of the internal troops of the Soviet Union. Naturally, the KNP could not conduct combat operations against modern armies and was called upon to perform purely police functions - to fight sabotage and bandit groups, disperse riots, and protect public order. This was confirmed by the decision of the 2nd party conference of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany. The Barracks People's Police was subordinate to the Minister of the Interior of the GDR, Willi Stof, and the direct leadership of the Barracks People's Police was carried out by the chief of the KNP. Lieutenant General Heinz Hoffmann was appointed to this post. The personnel of the Barracks People's Police were recruited from among volunteers who entered into a contract for a period of at least three years. In May 1952, the Union of Free German Youth took patronage over the Barracks People's Police of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the GDR, which contributed to a more active influx of volunteers into the ranks of the barracks police and improvement of the rear infrastructure of this service. In August 1952, the previously independent Maritime People's Police and Air People's Police became part of the Barracks People's Police of the GDR. In September 1953, the People's Air Police was transformed into the KNP Aero Clubs Directorate. It had two airfields, Kamenz and Bautzen, and Yak-18 and Yak-11 training aircraft. The Maritime People's Police had patrol boats and small minesweepers.

In the summer of 1953, it was the Barracks People's Police, along with Soviet troops, that played one of the main roles in suppressing the mass unrest organized by American-British agents. After this, the internal structure of the Barracks People's Police of the GDR was strengthened and its military component was strengthened. Further reorganization of the KNP along military lines continued, in particular, the Main Headquarters of the Barracks People's Police of the GDR was created, headed by Lieutenant General Vinzenz Müller, a former Wehrmacht general. The Territorial Administration North, headed by Major General Hermann Rentsch, and the Territorial Administration South, headed by Major General Fritz Jone, were also created. Each territorial department was subordinate to three operational detachments, and subordinate to the General Staff was a mechanized operational detachment, which was armed with even 40 units of armored vehicles, including T-34 tanks. The operational detachments of the Barracks People's Police were reinforced motorized infantry battalions with up to 1,800 personnel. The structure of the operational detachment included: 1) the headquarters of the operational detachment; 2) a mechanized company with BA-64 and SM-1 armored vehicles and motorcycles (the same company was armed with SM-2 armored water cannon tankers); 3) three motorized infantry companies (on trucks); 4) fire support company (field artillery platoon with three ZIS-3 guns; anti-tank artillery platoon with three 45 mm or 57 mm anti-tank guns; mortar platoon with three 82 mm mortars); 5) headquarters company (communications platoon, engineer platoon, chemical platoon, reconnaissance platoon, transport platoon, supply platoon, control department, medical department). In the Barracks People's Police, military ranks were established and a military uniform was introduced, which differed from the uniform of the People's Police of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the GDR (if the people's police officers wore a dark blue uniform, then the barracks police officers received a more “militarized” uniform of khaki color). The military ranks in the Barracks People's Police were established as follows: 1) soldier, 2) corporal, 3) non-commissioned officer, 4) staff non-commissioned officer, 5) sergeant major, 6) chief sergeant major, 7) non-commissioned lieutenant, 8) lieutenant, 9) chief lieutenant, 10) captain, 11) major, 12) lieutenant colonel, 13) colonel, 14) major general, 15) lieutenant general. When the decision was made to create the National People's Army of the GDR, thousands of employees of the Barracks People's Police of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the GDR expressed a desire to join the National People's Army and continue serving there. Moreover, in fact, it was within the Barracks People’s Police that the “skeleton” of the NPA was created - land, air and sea units, and the command staff of the Barracks People’s Police, including senior commanders, almost completely transferred to the NPA. The remaining employees of the Barracks People's Police continued to perform the functions of protecting public order and fighting crime, that is, they retained the functionality of the internal troops.
"Founding Fathers" of the GDR Army
On March 1, 1956, the Ministry of National Defense of the GDR began its work. It was headed by Colonel General Willi Stof (1914-1999), in 1952-1955. served as Minister of Internal Affairs. A communist with pre-war experience, Willy Stoff joined the German Communist Party at the age of 17. Being an underground worker, he, however, could not avoid serving in the Wehrmacht in 1935-1937. served in an artillery regiment. Then he was demobilized and worked as an engineer. During the Second World War, Willy Stoff was again called up for military service, participated in battles on the territory of the USSR, was wounded, and was awarded the Iron Cross for his valor. He went through the entire war and was captured in 1945. While in a Soviet prisoner of war camp, he completed a special training course at an anti-fascist prisoner of war school. The Soviet command trained future personnel from among prisoners of war to occupy administrative positions in the zone of Soviet occupation. Willi Stoff, who had not previously held prominent positions in the German communist movement, made a dizzying career in the several post-war years. After his release from captivity, he was appointed head of the industrial construction department, then headed the Economic Policy Department of the SED apparatus. In 1950-1952 Willi Stoff served as director of the economic department of the Council of Ministers of the GDR, and was then appointed Minister of the Interior of the GDR. Since 1950, he was also a member of the Central Committee of the SED - and this despite his young age - thirty-five years. In 1955, as Minister of the Interior of the GDR, Willi Stof received the military rank of Colonel General. Taking into account the experience of leading the power ministry, in 1956 it was decided to appoint Willy Stoff to the post of Minister of National Defense of the German Democratic Republic. In 1959, he received the following military rank: Army General. Lieutenant General Heinz Hoffmann, who held the position of head of the Barracks People's Police of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the GDR, also moved from the Ministry of Internal Affairs to the Ministry of National Defense of the GDR.
Heinz Hoffmann (1910-1985) can be called the second "founding father" of the National People's Army of the GDR, besides Willi Stoff. Coming from a working-class family, Hoffmann joined the Communist Youth League of Germany at the age of sixteen, and at the age of twenty became a member of the Communist Party of Germany. In 1935, underground fighter Heinz Hoffmann was forced to leave Germany and flee to the USSR. Here he was selected to receive education - first political at the International Lenin School in Moscow, and then military. From November 1936 to February 1837 Hoffman took special courses in Ryazan at the Military Academy named after. M.V. Frunze. After completing the courses, he received the rank of lieutenant and on March 17, 1937 he was sent to Spain, where at that time the Civil War was going on between the Republicans and the Francoists. Lieutenant Hoffman was assigned to the position of instructor in the handling of Soviet weapons in the training battalion of the 11th International Brigade. On May 27, 1937, he was appointed military commissar of the Hans Beimler battalion as part of the same 11th International Brigade, and on July 7 he took command of the battalion. The next day, Hoffmann was wounded in the face, and on July 24 - in the legs and stomach. In June 1938, Hoffmann, who had previously been treated in hospitals in Barcelona, ​​was taken from Spain - first to France and then to the USSR. After the start of the war, he worked as a translator in prisoner of war camps, then became the chief political instructor in the Spaso-Zavodsky prisoner of war camp on the territory of the Kazakh SSR. From April 1942 to April 1945 Hoffmann held the positions of political instructor and teacher at the Central Anti-Fascist School. From April to December 1945, he was an instructor and then head of the 12th Party School of the Communist Party of Germany in Skhodnya.
After returning to East Germany in January 1946, Hoffmann worked in various positions in the SED apparatus. On July 1, 1949, with the rank of inspector general, he became vice-president of the German Department of Internal Affairs, and from April 1950 to June 1952, Heinz Hoffmann served as head of the Main Directorate of Combat Training of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the GDR. On July 1, 1952, he was appointed head of the Barracks People's Police of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the GDR and Deputy Minister of the Interior of the country. For obvious reasons, Heinz Hoffmann was chosen when he was included in the leadership of the emerging Ministry of National Defense of the GDR in 1956. This was also facilitated by the fact that from December 1955 to November 1957. Hoffman completed a course of study at the Military Academy of the General Staff of the USSR Armed Forces. Returning to his homeland, on December 1, 1957, Hoffmann was appointed First Deputy Minister of National Defense of the GDR, and on March 1, 1958, also as Chief of the General Staff of the National People's Army of the GDR. Subsequently, on July 14, 1960, Colonel General Heinz Hoffmann replaced Willi Stoff as Minister of National Defense of the GDR. Army General (since 1961) Heinz Hoffmann headed the military department of the German Democratic Republic until his death in 1985 - twenty-five years.
Chief of the NPA General Staff from 1967 to 1985. Colonel General (since 1985 - Army General) Heinz Kessler (born 1920) remained. Coming from a family of communist workers, Kessler in his youth took part in the activities of the youth organization of the Communist Party of Germany, however, like the vast majority of his peers, he did not escape conscription into the Wehrmacht. As an assistant machine gunner he was sent to the Eastern Front and already on July 15, 1941 he defected to the Red Army. In 1941-1945. Kessler was in Soviet captivity. At the end of 1941, he enrolled in courses at the Anti-Fascist School, then engaged in propaganda activities among prisoners of war and composed appeals to soldiers of the active Wehrmacht armies. In 1943-1945. He was a member of the National Committee for Free Germany. After being released from captivity and returning to Germany, Kessler in 1946, at the age of 26, became a member of the Central Committee of the SED and in 1946-1948. headed the organization of Free German Youth in Berlin. In 1950, he was appointed head of the Main Directorate of the Air Police of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the GDR with the rank of inspector general and remained in this post until 1952, when he was appointed head of the Air People's Police of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the GDR (from 1953 - head of the Aero Clubs Directorate of the Barracks People's Police Ministry of Internal Affairs of the GDR). Kessler was awarded the rank of Major General in 1952 with his appointment to the post of Chief of the People's Air Police. From September 1955 to August 1956, he trained at the Air Force Military Academy in Moscow. After completing his studies, Kessler returned to Germany and on September 1, 1956 was appointed Deputy Minister of National Defense of the GDR - Commander of the NNA Air Force. On October 1, 1959, he was awarded the military rank of lieutenant general. Kessler held this post for 11 years - until he was appointed chief of the NPA General Staff. On December 3, 1985, after the unexpected death of Army General Karl-Heinz Hoffmann, Colonel General Heinz Kessler was appointed Minister of National Defense of the GDR and held this post until 1989. After the collapse of Germany, on September 16, 1993, a Berlin court sentenced Heinz Kessler to seven years half years' imprisonment.
Under the leadership of Willi Stoff, Heinz Hoffmann, other generals and officers, with the most active participation of the Soviet military command, the construction and development of the National People's Army of the GDR began, which quickly turned into the most combat-ready armed forces after the Soviet ones among the armies of the Warsaw Pact countries. Everyone who was involved in service in Eastern Europe in the 1960s - 1980s noted a significantly higher level of training, and most importantly, the fighting spirit of NPA military personnel compared to their colleagues from the armies of other socialist states. Although initially many Wehrmacht officers and even generals, who were the only military specialists in the country at that time, were initially recruited into the National People's Army of the GDR, the NPA officer corps was still significantly different from the Bundeswehr officer corps. Former Nazi generals were not so numerous in its composition and, most importantly, were not in key positions. A military education system was created, thanks to which it was possible to quickly train new officer cadres, up to 90% of whom came from working-class and peasant families.

The National People's Army of the GDR was assigned an important and difficult task in the event of an armed confrontation between the “Soviet Bloc” and Western countries. It was the NPA that had to directly enter into hostilities with the Bundeswehr formations and, together with units of the Soviet Army, ensure advancement into the territory of West Germany. It is no coincidence that NATO considered the NPA as one of the key and very dangerous opponents. Hatred of the National People's Army of the GDR subsequently affected the attitude towards its former generals and officers already in the united Germany.
The most combat-ready army in Eastern Europe
The German Democratic Republic was divided into two military regions - the Southern Military District (MB-III) with headquarters in Leipzig, and the Northern Military District (MB-V) with headquarters in Neubrandenburg. In addition, the National People's Army of the GDR included one centrally subordinate artillery brigade. Each military district included two motorized divisions, one armored division and one missile brigade. The motorized division of the NNA of the GDR included: 3 motorized regiments, 1 armored tank regiment, 1 artillery regiment, 1 anti-aircraft missile regiment, 1 missile department, 1 engineering battalion, 1 logistics battalion, 1 sanitary battalion, 1 chemical defense battalion. The armored division included 3 armored regiments, 1 motorized regiment, 1 artillery regiment, 1 anti-aircraft missile regiment, 1 engineering battalion, 1 logistics battalion, 1 chemical defense battalion, 1 sanitary battalion, 1 reconnaissance battalion, 1 missile department. The missile brigade included 2-3 missile departments, 1 engineering company, 1 logistics company, 1 meteorological battery, 1 repair company. The artillery brigade included 4 artillery departments, 1 repair company and 1 logistics company. The NPA Air Force included 2 air divisions, each of which included 2-4 attack squadrons, 1 anti-aircraft missile brigade, 2 anti-aircraft missile regiments, 3-4 radio battalions.

The history of the GDR navy began in 1952, when units of the Maritime People's Police were created as part of the GDR Ministry of Internal Affairs. In 1956, the ships and personnel of the Maritime People's Police of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the GDR entered the created National People's Army and until 1960 bore the name of the Naval Forces of the GDR. The first commander of the GDR Navy was Rear Admiral Felix Scheffler (1915-1986). A former merchant sailor, he served in the Wehrmacht from 1937, but almost immediately, in 1941, he was captured by the Soviets, where he remained until 1947. In captivity, he joined the National Committee of Free Germany. After returning from captivity, he worked as secretary to the rector of the Karl Marx Higher Party School, then joined the marine police, where he was appointed chief of staff of the Main Directorate of Marine Police of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the GDR. On October 1, 1952, he was promoted to rear admiral, from 1955 to 1956. served as commander of the Maritime People's Police. After the creation of the Ministry of National Defense of the GDR, on March 1, 1956, he took over the position of commander of the GDR Navy and held this post until December 31, 1956. Later, he held a number of important posts in the naval command, was responsible for combat training of personnel, then for equipment and weapons, and retired in 1975 from the post of deputy fleet commander for logistics. As commander of the GDR Navy, Felix Scheffler was replaced by Vice Admiral Waldemar Ferner (1914-1982), a former underground communist who left Nazi Germany back in 1935, and after returning to the GDR, headed the Main Directorate of the Marine Police. From 1952 to 1955 Ferner served as commander of the Maritime People's Police of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the GDR, into which the Main Directorate of the Maritime Police was transformed. From January 1, 1957 to July 31, 1959, he commanded the GDR Navy, after which from 1959 to 1978. served as head of the Main Political Directorate of the National People's Army of the GDR. In 1961, it was Waldemar Ferner who was the first in the GDR to be awarded the rank of admiral - the highest rank in the country's naval forces. The longest-serving commander of the People's Navy of the GDR (as the GDR Navy was called since 1960) was Rear Admiral (then Vice Admiral and Admiral) Wilhelm Eim (1918-2009). A former prisoner of war who sided with the USSR, Eim returned to post-war Germany and quickly made a party career. In 1950, he began serving in the Main Directorate of the Marine Police of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the GDR - first as a liaison officer, and then as deputy chief of staff and head of the organizational department. In 1958-1959 Wilhelm Eim led the logistics service of the GDR Navy. On August 1, 1959, he was appointed commander of the GDR Navy, but from 1961 to 1963. studied at the Naval Academy in the USSR. Upon his return from the Soviet Union, the acting commander, Rear Admiral Heinz Norkirchen, again gave way to Wilhelm Eym. Eim served as commander until 1987.
In 1960, a new name was adopted - the People's Navy. The GDR Navy became the most combat-ready after the Soviet naval forces of the Warsaw Pact countries. They were created taking into account the complex Baltic hydrography - after all, the only sea to which the GDR had access was the Baltic Sea. The low suitability of large ships for operations was determined by the predominance in the People's Navy of the GDR of high-speed torpedo and missile boats, anti-submarine boats, small missile ships, anti-submarine and anti-mine ships, and landing ships. The GDR had a fairly strong naval aviation, equipped with airplanes and helicopters. The People's Navy had to solve, first of all, the tasks of defending the country's coast, fighting enemy submarines and mines, landing tactical troops, and supporting ground forces on the coast. The Volksmarine personnel numbered approximately 16,000 troops. The GDR Navy was armed with 110 combat and 69 auxiliary ships and vessels, 24 naval aviation helicopters (16 Mi-8 and 8 Mi-14), 20 Su-17 fighter-bombers. The command of the GDR Navy was located in Rostock. The following structural units of the Navy were subordinate to him: 1) flotilla in Peenemünde, 2) flotilla in Rostock-Warnemünde, 3) flotilla in Dransk, 4) naval school. Karl Liebknecht in Stralsund, 5) naval school named after. Walter Steffens in Stralsund, 6) coastal missile regiment "Waldemar Werner" in Gelbenzand, 7) naval combat helicopter squadron "Kurt Barthel" in Parow, 8) naval aviation squadron "Paul Wiszorek" in Laga, 9) communications regiment "Johann Wesolek" in Böhlendorf, 10) communications and flight support battalion in Lag, 11) a number of other units and service units.

Until 1962, the National People's Army of the GDR was recruited by hiring volunteers, the contract was concluded for a period of three years. Thus, for six years the NPA remained the only professional army among the armies of the socialist countries. It is noteworthy that conscription was introduced in the GDR five years later than in the capitalist Federal Republic of Germany (where the army switched from contract to conscription in 1957). The number of the NPA was also inferior to the Bundeswehr - by 1990, 175,000 people served in the ranks of the NPA. The defense of the GDR was compensated by the presence on the territory of the country of a huge contingent of Soviet troops - ZGV / GSVG (Western Group of Forces / Group of Soviet Forces in Germany). The training of NNA officers was carried out at the Friedrich Engels Military Academy, the Wilhelm Pieck Higher Military-Political School, and specialized military educational institutions of the military branches. The National People's Army of the GDR introduced an interesting system of military ranks, partly duplicating the old ranks of the Wehrmacht, but partly containing obvious borrowings from the military rank system of the Soviet Union. The hierarchy of military ranks in the GDR looked like this (analogs of ranks in the Volksmarine - People's Navy are given in parentheses): I. Generals (admirals): 1) Marshal of the GDR - the rank was never awarded in practice; 2) General of the Army (Admiral of the Fleet) - in the ground forces the rank was assigned to senior officials, in the navy the rank was never assigned due to the small number of the Volksmarine; 3) Colonel General (Admiral); 4) Lieutenant General (Vice Admiral); 5) Major General (Rear Admiral); II. Officers: 6) Colonel (Captain zur See); 7) Lieutenant Colonel (Frigate Captain); 8) Major (Corvette-Captain); 9) Captain (Lieutenant Captain); 10) Oberleutnant (Oberleutnant zur See); 11) Lieutenant (Leutenant zur See); 12) Non-Commissioned Lieutenant (Unterleutnant zur See); III. Fenrichs (similar to Russian warrant officers): 13) Ober-Stabs-Fenrich (Ober-Stabs-Fenrich); 14) Stabs-Fenrich (Stabs-Fenrich); 15) Ober-Fenrich (Ober-Fenrich); 16) Fenrich (Fenrich); IVSergeants: 17) Staff Sergeant Major (Staff Obermeister); 18) Ober-sergeant-major (Ober-meister); 19) Feldwebel (Meister); 20) Non-commissioned sergeant major (Obermat); 21) Non-commissioned officer (Mate); V. Soldiers/sailors: 22) Staff-corporal (Staff-sailor); 23) Corporal (Chief Sailor); 24) Soldier (Sailor). Each branch of the army also had its own specific color in the edging of the shoulder straps. For generals of all branches of the military it was scarlet, motorized infantry units - white, artillery, missile troops and air defense units - brick, armored troops - pink, airborne troops - orange, signal troops - yellow, military construction troops - olive, engineering troops, chemical troops, topographical and motor transport services - black, rear units, military justice and medicine - dark green; air force (aviation) - blue, air force anti-aircraft missile forces - light gray, navy - blue, border service - green.

The sad fate of the NPA and its military personnel
The German Democratic Republic can rightfully be called the most loyal ally of the USSR in Eastern Europe. The National People's Army of the GDR remained the most combat-ready after the Soviet army of the Warsaw Pact countries until the end of the 1980s. Unfortunately, the fate of both the GDR and its army turned out badly. East Germany ceased to exist as a result of the policy of “German unification” and the corresponding actions of the Soviet side. In fact, the GDR was simply given to the Federal Republic of Germany. The last Minister of National Defense of the GDR was Admiral Theodor Hofmann (born 1935). He already belongs to the new generation of GDR officers who received military education in the military educational institutions of the republic. On May 12, 1952, Hofmann enlisted as a sailor in the Maritime People's Police of the GDR. In 1952-1955, he trained at the Naval People's Police Officer School in Stralsund, after which he was assigned to the position of combat training officer in the 7th Flotilla of the GDR Navy, then served as a torpedo boat commander, and studied at the Naval Academy in the USSR. After returning from the Soviet Union, he held a number of command positions at Volksmarine: deputy commander and chief of staff of the 6th flotilla, commander of the 6th flotilla, deputy chief of the naval staff for operational work, deputy commander of the navy and chief of combat training. From 1985 to 1987 Rear Admiral Hofmann served as Chief of Staff of the GDR Navy, and in 1987-1989. - Commander of the GDR Navy and Deputy Minister of Defense of the GDR. In 1987, Hofmann was awarded the military rank of vice admiral, and in 1989, with appointment to the post of Minister of National Defense of the GDR - admiral. After the Ministry of National Defense of the GDR was abolished on April 18, 1990 and was replaced by the Ministry of Defense and Disarmament, headed by the democratic politician Rainer Eppelmann, Admiral Hofmann served as assistant minister and commander-in-chief of the National People's Army of the GDR until September 1990 . After the dissolution of the NPA he was dismissed from military service.
The Ministry of Defense and Disarmament was created after reforms began in the GDR, under pressure from the Soviet Union, where Mikhail Gorbachev had long been in power, which also affected the military sphere. On March 18, 1990, the Minister of Defense and Disarmament was appointed - he became 47-year-old Rainer Eppelmann, a dissident and pastor in one of the evangelical parishes in Berlin. In his youth, Eppelman served 8 months in prison for refusing to serve in the National People's Army of the GDR, then received religious education and from 1975 to 1990. served as a pastor. In 1990, he became chairman of the Democratic Breakthrough Party and in this capacity was elected to the People's Chamber of the GDR, and was also appointed Minister of Defense and Disarmament.
On October 3, 1990, a historic event occurred - the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic were reunited. However, in fact, this was not reunification, but simply the inclusion of the territories of the GDR into the Federal Republic of Germany, with the destruction of the administrative system that existed during the socialist period and its own armed forces. The National People's Army of the GDR, despite its high level of training, was not included in the Bundeswehr. The German authorities feared that the generals and officers of the NNA retained communist sentiments, so a decision was made to effectively disband the National People's Army of the GDR. Only privates and non-commissioned officers of conscript service were sent to serve in the Bundeswehr. Career servicemen were much less fortunate. All generals, admirals, officers, fennrichs and non-commissioned officers of the personnel were dismissed from military service. The total number of dismissed persons is 23,155 officers and 22,549 non-commissioned officers. Almost none of them managed to be reinstated in service in the Bundeswehr; the vast majority were simply dismissed - and their military service was not counted toward their military service record, or even into their civil service record. Only 2.7% of NNA officers and non-commissioned officers were able to continue serving in the Bundeswehr (mostly, these were technical specialists capable of maintaining Soviet equipment, which after the reunification of Germany went to the Federal Republic of Germany), but they received ranks lower than those they held in the National People's Army - Germany refused to recognize the military ranks of the NPA.
Veterans of the National People's Army of the GDR, left without pensions and without taking into account military experience, were forced to look for low-paid and low-skilled work. The right-wing parties of the Federal Republic of Germany also opposed their right to wear the military uniform of the National People's Army - the armed forces of a “totalitarian state,” as the GDR is assessed in modern Germany. As for military equipment, the vast majority were either disposed of or sold to third countries. Thus, Volksmarine combat boats and ships were sold to Indonesia and Poland, and some were transferred to Latvia, Estonia, Tunisia, Malta, and Guinea-Bissau. The reunification of Germany did not lead to its demilitarization. American troops are still stationed on the territory of the Federal Republic of Germany, and Bundeswehr units now take part in armed conflicts around the world - ostensibly as peacekeeping forces, but in reality - defending US interests.
Currently, many former soldiers of the National People's Army of the GDR are part of public veterans' organizations involved in protecting the rights of former officers and non-commissioned officers of the NNA, as well as in the fight against discrediting and denigrating the history of the GDR and the National People's Army. In the spring of 2015, in honor of the seventieth anniversary of the Great Victory, over 100 generals, admirals and senior officers of the National People's Army of the GDR signed a letter - the "Soldiers for Peace" appeal, in which they warned Western countries against the policy of escalating conflicts in the modern world and confrontation with Russia . “We do not need military agitation against Russia, but mutual understanding and peaceful coexistence. We do not need military dependence on the United States, but our own responsibility for peace,” the appeal says. Among the first signatures of the appeal are the last ministers of national defense of the GDR - Army General Heinz Kessler and Admiral Theodor Hofmann.
Author Ilya Polonsky