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| Marshal of the German Democratic Republic Marschall der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik | |
|---|---|
 Technician suit insignia | |
 Shoulder board | |
| Country |  German Democratic Republic |
| Service branch |  Land Forces |
| Abbreviation | Marschall der DDR |
| Formation | 25 March 1982 |
| Abolished | November 1989 |
| Next lower rank | Army General |
Marshal of the German Democratic Republic (German:Marschall der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik), was the highest rank in theNational People's Army of the formerGerman Democratic Republic (GDR). It was never held and was abolished in 1989.
The rank ofMarschall der DDR was established on 25 March 1982 by decree of theStaatsrat der DDR (State Council of the GDR), but never bestowed. TheStaatsrat could promote a general to this rank for exceptional military achievement. The rank was an imitation of the supremeSoviet rank, that ofMarshal of the Soviet Union.
Some believe that this rank would only have been granted in wartime and was created as a result of changes inWarsaw Pact military planning. During wartime, aMarschall der DDR was to command an operationalarmy group that included all East German forces includingPolice andStasi troops. Prior to this change, all East German forces were under the direct control of theSoviet military command.
In November 1989, the actingMinister for National Defense, AdmiralTheodor Hoffmann, abolished this rank.
Several designs were considered for the Marshal shoulder board. The final design was a shoulder board 118 mm long and 48 mm wide consisting of interlaced gold and silver cord backed by a red cloth material on which was placed a five-pointed, gilded star with a red ruby in the center. According to Klaus Wather'sUniformeffekten der bewaffneten Organe der DDR Band II, 12 pairs of these shoulder boards were made.[citation needed]
Drawings were also made of a Soviet-style "Marshal's star" to be worn on a red neck ribbon but this item was never produced.
Also planned were Marshal rank insignia for the new field uniform. This consisted of a 90 x 60 mm rectangular badge of stone-grey cloth for mounting on the upper uniform sleeve. On this badge was woven a large five-pointed gold colored star with a red center over a 20 mm long horizontal gold bar. For the cap there was an oval badge 50 × 30 mm with the same design as the sleeve insignia.
