LINKS LINKOVI

POLICE AND ARMY

      East German armed forces personnel display rank insignia on shoulder boards or shoulder loops on service, semidress, and parade uniforms, and subdued sleeve insignia midway between the shoulder and elbow on the left sleeve of the field uniform, coveralls, or other special uniforms. General officer rank is denoted by five-pointed silver stars mounted on a gold and silver braided shoulder cord set on a bright red base. All other officers and NCOs wear a four-pointed star. Like many of the other Warsaw Pact countries, NVA rank insignia followed the Soviet pattern in the arrangement of stars. The Volksmarine followed similar insignia for the naval officers and NCOs' except that these were blue colored.

*    Obavezno služenje vojnog roka trajalo je najmanje 18 mjeseci i vrijedilo je za sve sposobne muškarce od 18 do 26 godina starosti. Nije postojalo alternativno služenje vojnog roka ("civilno služenje") za one koji su odbijali oružje, npr iz vjerskih razloga. Ipak, 1964. godine, kao alternativa, uvodi se takozvani "građevinac" Bauslodat. Neki od njih su stvarno radili na vojnim gradilištima, dok su drugi radili po bolnicama ili socijalnim ustanovama. Cijelo su vrijeme, ovi vojnici bili izloženi službeno odobrenom maltretiranju, a često i nakon toga. Znalo se dogoditi da im nije bio dozvoljen upis na fakultet! Prigovor savjesti je bio zabranjen i često se kažnjavao i zatvorskom kaznom, iza koje bi nerijetko uslijedilo i protjerivanje u Zapadnu Njemačku. 

*     Conscription was for at least 18 months and adult males between 18 and 26 were eligible. There was no alternative civilian service for those opposing military service with weapons, e.g. for religious reasons. However, in 1964 the Bausoldat (construction soldier) in the NVA was introduced as an alternative. Some of these Bausoldaten worked indeed in the construction of military facilities, others worked in hospitals or other social services. Bausoldaten were subject to official harassment during their service, and often after it, too. For example, university admission was often refused after service. Real conscientious objection was illegal and was punished with jailtime.Often the jailtime was followed by eviction to West Germany.

RECTANGULAR RANKS   "KVADRATNI"  ČINOVI

ROUNDED RANKS   "OVALNI"  ČINOVI

      Nošenje malih ovalnih činova je još jedna od promjena u izgledu uniformi iniciranih 1986. godine. Oznake su kreirane tako da mogu stati na prednju stranu terenskih kapa ("baseball" kapa), uvedenih u vojsku osamdesetih godina. Nosili su se ispod male, vezene oznake koja je predstavljala grb istočne Njemačke. Koliko je raširena bila upotreba ovih oznaka nije poznato. Sigurno je samo da su ih nosili pripadnici Istočnonjemačke vojske u misijama izvan zemlje. U avijaciji nisu uopće korišteni, a za pretpostaviti je da su ih nosili pripadnici kopnene vojske kao i oni iz Graničnih jedinica u periodu pred sam kraj postojanja DDR-a, 1990. godine..

      The use of embroidered oval-shaped patches for showing rank was another outgrowth of the uniform changes the NVA initiated in 1986. The patches were designed to fit in the front of the Rain Pattern baseball caps (“Baseballmuetze”) that came into use in the late 1980s. They were worn below the small textile cockade displaying the East German coat of arms. How widely the oval rank patches were used remains questionable. So far only one use is definite. After 1988, the patches were worn on the camo caps of East German soldiers sent outside the country on tours of military inspection and the like. Air Force personnel did not wear oval rank patches at all, but it is likely that Army and Border Guard units were wearing them before the NVA ceased to exist in 1990.

      OPIS ČINOVA: Vezeni su na ovalnoj, zeleno-sivoj podlozi od gabardena, visine od 3.6 cm i širine od 5.2 cm. Nosili su ih svi pripadnici od regruta do feldmaršala. U upotrebi su bili od 1986/87 do 1990. godine.

      RANKS DESCRIPTION: Embroidered design on an oval green-grey gabardine base, enclosed by a green rim in height 3.8 cm, and in width 5.2 cm. Ranks were from Private to Field Marshal/Soldat bis Marschall der DDR. Ranks were in use from 1986/87 till 1990.