WMacht H OF10-1 Kragenspiegel Offiziere 1945

Corps colours, or Troop-function colours, (

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

: " Waffenfarbe(n)") were worn by the

National People's Army The National People's Army (german: Nationale Volksarmee, ; NVA ) were the armed forces of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) from 1956 to 1990. The NVA was organized into four branches: the (Ground Forces), the (Navy), the (Air Force) an ...

of the

German Democratic Republic German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

from 1956 to 1990.

Introduction

The

GDR East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

NPA uniforms initially bore the ''corps colours'' as worn by the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previous ...

, i.e. as base and filling of the collar and sleeve patches, and as a piping around the shoulder boards/shoulder straps. Between 1974 and 1979, alongside the introduction of uniforms with open collar and tie, patches of the NPA Landstreitkräfte uniforms were unified across all corps, with a base and a white filling, along with white collar piping; the piping of the shoulder boards/shoulder straps remained the only part carrying Waffenfarbe. However,

Air Forces of the National People's Army The Air Forces of the National People's Army (german: Luftstreitkräfte der Nationalen Volksarmee; LSK) was the Air Force of East Germany. As with the , the , and the Border Troops, it was a military branch of the National People's Army (NVA). ...

, paratroopers and generals as well as the

Volksmarine The ''Volksmarine'' (VM, ; en, People's Navy) was the naval force of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) from 1956 to 1990. The ''Volksmarine'' was one of the service branches of the National People's Army and primarily performed a coastal d ...

continued to wear their specially designed and coloured patches. The uniform of the Border Troops was distinguished from that of the NVA ground force and Air Force/Air Defence Force by a green armband with large silver letters identifying the wearer's affiliation, and a green cap band. The tables below contain the corps colours used by the NPA since 1986.Keubke/Kunz, ibid. p. 267, 234 ff.)

Land Forces of the National People's Army

⇒ see main article

Ranks of the National People's Army The Ranks of the National People's Army were the military insignia used by the National People's Army, the army of the German Democratic Republic, from 1956 to 1990. Design The design of the rank insignias followed the tradition of the German Ar ...

Air Forces of the National People's Army

Border Troops of the German Democratic Republic

Volksmarine

{, class="wikitable" , - ! Volksmarine ratings ! Colour ! colspan=2, Insignias ! Rank , - , Flag officers , align="center" style="background: #040040; color:white;" , Navy blue , GDR Navy Arab OF6-9

, Flottenadmiral to

Konteradmiral ''Konteradmiral'', abbreviated KAdm or KADM, is the second lowest naval flag officer rank in the German Navy. It is equivalent to '' Generalmajor'' in the '' Heer'' and ''Luftwaffe'' or to '' Admiralstabsarzt'' and ''Generalstabsarzt'' in the '' ...

, - , Officers , align="center" style="background: #040040; color:white;" , , GDR Navy OF5 Kapitaen zur See

Kapitän zur See Captain is the name most often given in English-speaking navies to the rank corresponding to command of the largest ships. The rank is equal to the army rank of colonel and air force rank of group captain. Equivalent ranks worldwide include ...

to Unterleutnant (zur See) , - , Warrant officers
''(comparable)'' ! align="center" style="background: #040040; color:white;" , ! GDR Navy W4 Stabsoberfähnrich

, Stabsoberfähnrich to

Fähnrich Fähnrich () is an officer candidate rank in the Austrian Bundesheer The Austrian Armed Forces (german: Bundesheer, lit=Federal Army) are the combined military forces of the Republic of Austria. The military consists of 22,050 active-d ...

, - , Petty Officers , align="center" style="background: #040040; color:white;" , , GDR Navy OR8 Stabsobermeister

, Stabsobermeister to

Maat Maat or Maʽat ( Egyptian: mꜣꜥt /ˈmuʀʕat/, Coptic: ⲙⲉⲓ) refers to the ancient Egyptian concepts of truth, balance, order, harmony, law, morality, and justice. Ma'at was also the goddess who personified these concepts, and regul ...

, - , Seamen , align="center" style="background: #040040; color:white;" , , OR4 Stabsmatrose VM

Stabsmatrose ''Stabsgefreiter'' (''abbr.'' StGefr, on lists SG) is the second highest rank of enlisted men in the German Bundeswehr, which might be comparable to Corporal (OR-4) in Anglophone armed forces. History In the 19th century German Army the ''Gefre ...

to Matrose , -

Civil defense of the GDR

Civil defense of the GDR * Common (generals, as well): Malino ( :de:Himbeerrot, meaning the same as and similar in shade to English

raspberry The raspberry is the edible fruit of a multitude of plant species in the genus ''Rubus'' of the rose family, most of which are in the subgenus '' Idaeobatus''. The name also applies to these plants themselves. Raspberries are perennial with w ...

)

Other users

Waffenfarben were also worn by the troops of the

Stasi The Ministry for State Security, commonly known as the (),An abbreviation of . was the Intelligence agency, state security service of the East Germany from 1950 to 1990. The Stasi's function was similar to the KGB, serving as a means of maint ...

, "Ministry for State Security", the Ministry of Internal Affairs with several branches of the police, fire brigades, etc.

References

German military uniforms National People's Army