National People's Army
The National People's Army (German: Nationale Volksarmee, pronounced [natsi̯oˈnaːlə ˈfɔlksʔaʁˌmeː] ; NVA [ɛn faʊ ˈʔaː] ) were the armed forces of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) from 1956 to 1990.
National People's Army
Für den Schutz der Arbeiter-und-Bauern-Macht
(For the protection of the workers' and peasants' power)
1 March 1956
2 October 1990
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Yes
176,000
47,000
The NVA was organized into four branches: the Landstreitkräfte (Ground Forces), the Volksmarine (Navy), the Luftstreitkräfte (Air Force) and the Grenztruppen (Border Troops). The NVA belonged to the Ministry of National Defence and commanded by the National Defense Council of East Germany, headquartered in Strausberg 30 kilometers (19 mi) east of East Berlin. From 1962, conscription was mandatory for all GDR males aged between 18 and 60 requiring an 18-month service, and it was the only Warsaw Pact military to offer non-combat roles to conscientious objectors, known as "construction soldiers" (Bausoldat). The NVA reached 175,300 personnel at its peak in 1987.
The NVA was formed on 1 March 1956 to succeed the Kasernierte Volkspolizei (Barracked People's Police) and under the influence of the Soviet Army became one of the Warsaw Pact militaries opposing NATO during the Cold War. The majority of NATO officers rated the NVA the best military in the Warsaw Pact based on discipline, thoroughness of training, and the quality of officer leadership.[1] The NVA did not see significant combat but participated in the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968, deployed military advisors to communist governments in other countries, and manned the Berlin Wall where they were responsible for numerous deaths.
The NVA was dissolved on 2 October 1990 with the GDR before German reunification, and its facilities and equipment were handed over to the Bundeswehr (the armed forces of West Germany), which also absorbed most of its personnel below the rank of non-commissioned officer.
The NVA was, in relation to its equipment and training, one of the strongest armies in the Warsaw Pact. It was equipped with a large number of modern weapons systems, most of Soviet origin, from which a small portion were given back to the Soviet Union in 1990.
The remaining equipment and materiel was still substantial, including large quantities of replacement parts, medical supplies, atomic, biological and chemical warfare equipment, training devices and simulators, etc.
One of the first measures taken after the reunification was a survey and securing of weapons and devices by former members of the NVA. The federally operated Materiel Depot Service Gesellschaft (MDSG) was charged with taking custody of and warehousing this equipment. The MDSG employed 1,820 people who were primarily taken from the Bundeswehr.[27] The MDSG was privatised in 1994. Much of the materiel was given free of charge to beneficiaries in the new federal states or other departments, to museums, or to friendly nations in the context of military support for developing countries. The German Federal Intelligence Service secretly sold NVA equipment to several countries, violating international and German laws as well as international treaties.[28]
The rest was destroyed.[29]
24 modern MIG-29s became part of the Luftwaffe. After 1999, 23 of the 24 aircraft were given to Poland.[31]
The NVA had four main branches:[32]
In wartime, mobilization of the NVA's reserves would have nearly doubled its strength. GDR authorities also had at their disposal the internal security troops of the Ministry of the Interior (the Kasernierte Volkspolizei) and the Ministry for State Security (the Felix Dzerzhinsky Guards Regiment) along with the 210,000 strong party auxiliary "Combat Groups of the Working Class" (Kampfgruppen der Arbeiterklasse), who were available in times of war.
The highest level of leadership for the NVA was the Ministry for National Defense (Ministerium für Nationale Verteidigung) headquartered in Strausberg near East Berlin. NVA administration was divided into the following commands:
Periodicals[edit]
The two main periodicals of the NVA were the weekly newspaper Volksarmee and the monthly soldier's magazine Armeerundschau.