Army general (East Germany)

Army general (German: Armeegeneral), was in the so-called armed organs of the GDR (German: Bewaffnete Organe der DDR), represented by Ministry of National Defence, Ministry for State Security, and Ministry of Interior, the highest general officer peace times rank, comparable to the four-star rank in many NATO-Armed forces (Rangcode OF-9). This was in reference to Soviet military doctrine and in line with other armed forces of the Warsaw Pact.

For the use of this four-star rank in modern NATO armed forces, see general.
Army general
Armeegeneral
collar patches / shoulder board
Country German Democratic Republic
Service branch
RankFour-star
NATO rankOF-9
Formation1 March 1956
Abolished2 October 1990
Next higher rankMarshal of the German Democratic Republic
Next lower rankGeneraloberst
Equivalent ranksFlottenadmiral

The rank was reserved to minister level exclusively, e.g. MOD, MFS, and MDI. Consequently, in the National People's Army service branches, Landstreitkräfte, Luftstreitkräfte/ Luftverteidigung, Border troops, and Volksmarine there was not any OF-4 rank equivalent. However, in the case that a Navy Flag officer was designated or appointed Minister of national defence the naval rank Flottenadmiral should have been conveyed. With the disbandment of the armed organs of the GDR in October 1990, the Army general rank was abolished.

List of Army generals in the GDR

East German officers who achieved the rank of Armeegeneral were:

Name Portrait Position Year of Rank
Willi Stoph Minister of National Defence 1959
Heinz Hoffmann Minister of National Defence 1961
Erich Mielke Minister for State Security 1980
Friedrich Dickel Minister of Interior 1984
Heinz Kessler Minister of National Defence 1985

Design
Rank insignias Armeegeneral / Flottenadmiral (OF-9)
GDR MFS GDR MOD  GDR Ministry of Interior
Armeegeneral Flottenadmiral Armeegeneral

Army general in other countries

This four-star rank OF-9 was largely used in other armed forces of the former Warsaw Pact countries. Some examples are described below.

Junior Rank
Generaloberst		  GDR
Armeegeneral
(Flottenadmiral)		 Senior rank
Marshal of the GDR
(reserved for war times only)

See also

References
  1. Czech military ranks with acronyms, classes and Czech language originals (English, Czech)

Bibliography
  • Klaus-Ulrich Keubke, Manfred Kunz, Militärische Uniformen in der DDR 1949–1990, E.S. Mittler & Sohn GmbH, 2005, ISBN 978-3-8132-0915-0
  • Günter Wollert, NVA Kalender 1985, Militärverlag der DDR, 1984
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