The end of the National People's Army in Mecklenburg-West Pomerania

With the end of the GDR on October 3, 1990, the NVA was also dissolved, and the bases in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, among others, were gradually closed. A look at the history of the force and what's left.

On March 1, 1956, the National People's Army (NVA) was founded in the GDR. Willi Stoph, the first minister of the new Ministry of National Defence, emphasized that the army should only "guarantee the defense capability of our republic". Rearmament also began in the Federal Republic at this time. Here, too, Federal Chancellor and CDU politician Konrad Adenauer asserted:"The sole aim of German rearmament is to help keep the peace."

Bundeswehr becomes the "army of unity" in 1990

The GDR was included in the Warsaw Pact, the Federal Republic in the North Atlantic Defense Alliance. For decades, the two German states faced each other in hostile military alliances - until reunification. On October 3, 1990, the 173,000-strong NVA ceased to exist along with the GDR. From then on, the Bundeswehr was regarded as the "army of unity". Numerous former NVA bases were gradually closed and the individual units were dissolved.

Demen:from idyllic village to missile base

Up until the early 1970s, for example, Demen in western Mecklenburg was a completely normal village:quiet, idyllic and shaped by agriculture. The people were there for each other, the resident Horst Spieck once recalled in an interview with the NDR. But then everything got mixed up:"Then it was said that the army was building up there. Then the beloved asparagus field, where the new buildings are now, was the first to be stamped out. And then there was a lot of deforestation." In the middle of the forest, the NVA built one of the largest rocket bases in the GDR and a prefabricated housing estate for the officers and their families, with schools and kindergartens. There was also a cinema and a restaurant, but these were taboo for the long-established population.

Committed to the strictest secrecy

The settlement of the people's army in Demen also had its good side, according to Host Spieck. The pub made big sales. The community got help:For example, the soldiers built a bathing area. But a real coexistence between the villagers and the soldiers did not develop. There were too many security constraints for that, and the new settlement was too isolated for that. Secrecy first.

Rostocker Heide is increasingly being used for military purposes

Wiethagen in the Rostocker Heide:where there are now bushes and trees, there was an infantry firing range until 1990. There were also firing ranges in the neighboring towns, for the 4th flotilla and the units stationed in Rostock. Some NVA troops were stationed directly in the heath. From 1961, the anti-aircraft missile department with barracks, missile positions and missile systems and the Coastal Regiment 18 were added. The GDR invested more than 20 million East German marks in military equipment on the Rostock Heath. The military forest company, the head forester or the district forester were commissioned to cut down the wood. In 1989, around 2,600 of a total of 5,800 hectares of heathland were used for military purposes. Apparently there were no protests.

renaturation instead of shooting range

After 1990 plans circulated to keep at least one firing range for the military. But the head of the forestry office, Jörg Harmuth, and his colleagues were able to prevent that. Instead, a huge renaturation program began. Many locals found at least part-time work here in the 1990s. What they removed from the heath sounds huge:66 buildings were demolished, 50,000 square meters of concrete were broken up and 5,800 square meters of asbestos disposed of. Today the Rostock Heath is under nature protection. At first glance, visitors to the conservation area can hardly tell that the Cold War was also fought here.

The naval pilots at Strelasund

GDR naval pilots were stationed in Parow am Strelasund, the strait between Rügen and the mainland. At first there were only "Mi-4" helicopters at the military airfield, but they were soon exchanged for powerful turbine helicopters "Mi-8". The "Mi-8" served as "jack of all trades", were used as transport or rescue helicopters and could also be used as attack helicopters. Later, ultra-modern helicopters of the "Mi-14" type were added, which were used in particular for anti-submarine warfare. In addition to border security, the Stralsund naval aviation were responsible for providing assistance on the high seas. In the event of an accident, they flew rescue workers to ships or dropped divers. The winter of 1977/78, when Rügen was completely covered in snow, was particularly memorable among naval pilots. Numerous sick people and an infant were transported to Stralsund by helicopter.

A Mi-8 in the Naval Museum

On October 2, 1990, the service flag of the NVA was lowered at the airfield in Parow. Gradually, all helicopters were disarmed - all but two of the Mi-8 type, which were brought to Dresden as exhibits in 1994 and then to the Dänholm Naval Museum in Stralsund. This was only possible by air. "It's the only exhibit that practically came to the museum itself," the museum writes on its website. It must have been an adventurous operation:there were no permits, the commander flew personally. His assistant was the man who had flown the machine decades earlier as the first pilot, as the then director of the Naval Museum, Klaus Trepping, once reported. After the successful landing, the two ex-naval pilots also gave the museum their equipment - they no longer needed it.

Editor's note:A previous version of the article stated that the only naval pilots in the GDR were stationed in Parow. That is not correct. In fact, from 1988 there was another base in Laage near Rostock. We apologize for the error.