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This is What Life was Like in Communist East Germany

Tim Flight December 18, 2019 25 min

Berlin Wall - Checkpoint Charlie — A man peers over the newly-built Berlin Wall in August 1961. The Guardian

13. All men between 18 and 26 had to do 18 months of national service

GDR Border Troops, 1979. Wikimedia Commons

Military service provided another means to keep people equal for the socialist SED. The GDR established its army, Nationale Volksarmee (‘National People’s Army’), in 1956. From 1962, all men aged between 18 and 26 had to serve 18 months in the military. Most had to work on the Inner German Border to stop civilians from escaping. In 1964, the SED passed a law allowing conscientious objectors to serve without bearing weapons. These people joined construction units called Baueinheiten, and worked on civilian building projects. Both types of conscripts had to live in barracks and wear uniforms.

Written by

Tim Flight

I am a freelance historical and literary writer based in West Yorkshire, UK. I read for a funded PhD in English at the University of Oxford (Magdalen College) and graduated in 2016. I am a former lecturer in Medieval English Literature at Royal Holloway, University of London. My publications include peer-reviewed articles in academic publications, and pieces in mainstream magazines such as History Today and Fortean Times. For more information, please see www.drflight.co.uk