The Erich-Weinert-Ensemble was a professional army ensemble of 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 ...

. The ensemble consisted of a male choir, a ballet, an orchestra, a cabaret, soloists, dramaturges, conductors, directors, choreographers and technical and organizational staff. The ensemble was based in Berlin-Biesdorf. The ensemble was named after

Erich Weinert Erich Bernhard Gustav Weinert (4 August 1890 in Magdeburg – 20 April 1953 in East Berlin) was a German Communist writer and a member of the Communist Party of Germany (KPD). Early life Weinert was born in 1890 in Magdeburg to a family supp ...

, a German communist writer.

History

On 15 July 1950, a folk art ensemble was set up by

Kasernierte Volkspolizei The Kasernierte Volkspolizei ( en, Barracked People's Police) was the precursor to the National People's Army (NVA) in East Germany. Their original headquarters was in Adlershof locality in Berlin, and from 1954 in Strausberg in modern-day Bran ...

. It was handed over to the NVA in 1956, where it was renamed the Erich-Weinert-Ensemble. The ensemble made a name for itself both locally and internationally due to the diversity of its repertoire, the cultivation of the traditions of the German folk song and propagandistic songs. The ensemble toured the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

and the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

. In 1989, the ensemble was transferred to the

Bundeswehr The ''Bundeswehr'' (, meaning literally: ''Federal Defence'') is the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. The ''Bundeswehr'' is divided into a military part (armed forces or ''Streitkräfte'') and a civil part, the military part con ...

and was spun off on June 30, 1991, by order of the German Bundestag. The ensemble was financed by the Federal Defense Ministry of Germany until 1994.

References

{{Authority control East German musical groups German military bands Musical groups established in 1950 1950 establishments in East Germany National People's Army