This interview was conducted with H. W. a former member of the East German Volksmarine.

What rank did you attain and branch did you serve in the Volksmarine?

My rank before leaving Volksmarine was Kapitänleutnant, in english captain-lieutnant. My branch was seemännisch. The meaning is navigating officer.

How long was your service in the Volksmarine and how old were you when you entered service?

I joined the Volksmarine at age 19 and I served 12 years 5 months (until shortly after the reunion of Germany).

How many years did it take to reach the Kapitänleutnant rank?

I became a Kapitänleutnant after 9 years service.

What unit did you serve in?

The unit I served with before leaving the Volksmarine in 1991 was the so called "7. Raketenschiffsbrigade der 6. Flottille". In english is it like a brigade of misssile ships (corvettes) of the 6th fleet. (There were three fleets and the Grenzbrigade Küste in VM).

Before this I studied 3 years at War Academy in St. Petersburg (Leningrad) in Russia. Prior to the War Academy, I served with the 1. Raketen-Torpedo-Schnellbootsbrigade der 6. Flottille (1st missile and torpedo boat brigade) as a missile boat commander.

Was it common for NVA officers to go to the USSR War Academy in Leningrad?

No, it wasn't. Every year only very few people were sent to the USSR War Academy, providing for those serving in top commanding positions, ranking commander or admiral.

I thought it was a great career.

What educational path brought you to the Volksmarine?

I attended a Hochschule - an advanced secondary school.

The trade and branch structure of the Volksmarine was prominent in VM insignia such as the gear, anchor, shield and sword. Can you explain a little about each branch?

My branch was seemännisch, the fouled anchor insignia for men and the star insignia for officers. We were the navigation and command part of a ships crew.

People serving with Küstendienst (unfouled anchor insignia) did not go on sea. They only worked at land to secure the sea going units.

The ship’s engine room personnel were all members of the "Techn" branch and wore the gear insignia on their uniforms.

While my service in the Volksmarine, I saw only a few of the personnel belonging to Verwaltungs branch. Mostly they worked in the administrative staff. They dealt with personnel, financial and other similar affairs. Many of them were female.

In the Medizinischer dienst, there were some military doctors holding officer-ranks and some Maats or Fähnrichs as medical attendants. As well, female civilians often worked as nurses in Volksmarine facilities.

In the Volksmarine, personnel from Militarjustiz (crossed swords and sheild insignia) were rarely encountered. If a problem arose and VM Militarjustiz appeared, usually nothing more could be done. It was out of our hands.

The Volksmarine included the Grenzbrigade Küste was like your coast guard. It acted as the frontier police at sea.

What about propaganda in the Volksmarine?

It was always present, detained us from sailing, and only very few people really believed in it. Of course they told us, NATO and the whole West were our enemies, every second ready to kill us.

But me and my most of my comrades of the younger officer generation were more liberal and tried to discuss the ideas of the Helsinki conference for example, but it was very dangerous.

Of course we had a lot of propaganda instructions. There were daily and weekly short information meetings and monthly 2-days-political-trainings. Special agitation and propaganda officers continuously tortured me and my crew with these red ideas and lies, especially last time before the break down of G.D.R. By the way, these propaganda guys most were intellectually and practically unable to serve on ships and boats. Knowing this by the staff of all combat units, they were "very loved." The whole political staff of Volksmarine first were fired day after German reunion!

During my Russian engagement, I studied together in one class with other communists including Polish, Bulgarians, Saddam’s Iraqis, Ghadafi's Libyans, Kim's Koreans and Cuban officers. But the Cubans were the most fanatic communists of all of them. I was in Russia during Gorbachov's Glasnost and Perestroika period. At this time I realised finally, what all happened in the name of communism in the past and present. We all were shocked of this, because we really never knew this before. I think that most of us made our choice then, but my Cuban friends stayed loyal with Castro until the end.

Did the political / propaganda officers in the Volksmarine take their work seriously?

Of course, most of them were fanatic communists, specially the older generation. But in the last time of GDR more liberal people appeared with progressive ideas. They didn't believe the slogans longer and asked troublesome questions. You can believe, it was a very interesting time!

What ranks typically would they hold?

All ranks, most from first lieutenant to vice-admiral.

What was the level of dedication of the average Volksmarine sailor to the SED and party propagandists in the VM?

This level of dedication was not very high, because there were a great difference between the situation of their real life in the GDR and the contents of the political indoctrination.

Were your propaganda meetings like the photo of the NVA servicemen sitting around a tank draped in the SED flag in the DDR photo book “Soldaten des Volkes?”

This is a very funny picture. Never I had such a meeting. It is a typical propaganda picture and complete nonsense.

The Stasi penetrated many levels of DDR society. Did you feel their presence in the Volksmarine?

Yes, I did. There was a special service in Volksmarine, called "Administration 2000". Administration 2000 watched over all persons in Volksmarine, specially over sea going units. Many of my crew members worked as unofficial informers of this service, but even I didn't know them! The time I was decided to study in the Soviet Union, they even spied my own family. Even my best friend at this time took part in it.

But discipline and crime was not that problem in VM, because only volunteers served in the crews on ships and boats. It meaned, they served longer than man liable to military service, 3, 4, 10 or more years. Longer military service in G.D.R. for male poeple was necessary to get study at university or high school, thats why many men had to decide for longer service (this is an other special G.D.R. theme ... ).