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The Friedrich Engels Guards Regiment (also known as NVA Guard Regiment 1) was a special guard unit of the Land Forces of the National People's Army. The regiment was named after Friedrich Engels, the German socialist that collaborated with Karl Marx in systematizing Marxism.
It served representative purposes and for surveillance of various landmarks in NVA East Berlin, including the City headquarters, the office of the Ministry of National Defense of the GDR in East Berlin, and the branch office of the Administration of MND Intelligence in Berlin-Köpenick. [1]
The regiment's headquarters was with the patrol commander of the town in Friedrich-Engels-Kaserne, Am Kupfergraben 1 stationed in Berlin. It had seven companies, most of which were made up of conscripts.
Three companies were honor guard companies for the protocol service, the honor guard at the "Memorial to the Victims of Fascism and Militarism" in the Neue Wache and the Great Wachaufzug held weekly on Wednesday at 14:30 was the Guards Parade.
Four companies were guard companies, one of which consisted of reservists.
The guard regiment was formed by order No. 99/62 of the Minister of National Defense of the GDR. Its duties were guard duty, guard of honor, honor parade ( Ehrenparade ), and implementation of the military ceremony.
The guard regiment was established in 1962 from parts of the Hugo Eberlein Guards Regiment but wasn't given the title "Friedrich Engels" until 1970. As only Allied troops could be stationed in Berlin due to the special status of the city, the regiment was formally subordinate to the garrison commander.
The main tasks were the ceremonial presentation of the honor guard at the memorial on Unter den Linden (New Guard) and the Greater Changing of the Guard held every Wednesday and was always quite a spectacle. In addition, the honor companies as formations honor to welcome state guests from the GDR were used. Special duties by the regiment were also performed at the Great Tattoo, other guards of honor, honor companies at funerals of senior figures and wreath-laying ceremonies.
The soldiers of the guard regiment "Friedrich Engels" were generally conscripts who served for 18 months. The presentation weapon was the SKS rifle - in the army under the name "S carabiner led". Each soldier of honor companies had two carbines, a training and a performance carbine. The honor guard at the Unter den Linden was equipped with their own rifles whose bolt and bayonet were chromed.
The Regiment was dissolved along with the rest of the NVA in 1990.
Its uniforms were nearly identical to those of those of National People's Army (NVA) and were distinguished primarily by the honorary cuffband (Ärmelstreife) on the left sleeve bearing the regiment's name.
Unter den Linden is a boulevard in the central Mitte district of Berlin, Germany. Running from the Berlin Palace to the Brandenburg Gate, it is named after the linden trees that line the grassed pedestrian mall on the median and the two broad carriageways. The avenue links numerous Berlin sights, landmarks and rivers for sightseeing.
The National People's Army were the armed forces of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) from 1956 to 1990.
There was a high level of conscientious objection in East Germany.
The Kroll Opera House in Berlin, Germany, was in the Tiergarten district on the western edge of the Königsplatz square, facing the Reichstag building. It was built in 1844 as an entertainment venue for the restaurant owner Joseph Kroll, and redeveloped as an opera house in 1851. It also served as the assembly hall of the Reichstag from 1933 to 1942. Severely damaged by the bombing of Berlin in World War II and the Battle of Berlin, it was demolished in 1951.
The Felix Dzerzhinsky Guards Regiment was the paramilitary wing of the Ministry for State Security (Stasi), the security service of the German Democratic Republic (GDR).
The Neue Wache is a listed building on Unter den Linden boulevard in the historic centre of Berlin, Germany. Erected from 1816 to 1818 according to plans by Karl Friedrich Schinkel as a guardhouse for the Royal Palace and a memorial to the Liberation Wars, it is considered a major work of Prussian Neoclassical architecture. A Victoria pedimental sculpture by Johann Gottfried Schadow and five General statues by Christian Daniel Rauch, referring to the Warrior statues on Schlossbrücke, also belong to the ensemble. Since 1993, the Neue Wache has been home to the Central Memorial of the Federal Republic of Germany to the Victims of War and Tyranny.
The Infantry Regiment Großdeutschland was an élite German Army ceremonial and combat unit which saw action during World War II. Originally formed in 1921 it was known as the Wachregiment Berlin. Renamed Infanterie-Regiment Großdeutschland in 1939, the regiment served in the campaigns in France and the Low Countries. It then served exclusively on the Eastern Front until the end of the war. It was destroyed near Pillau in May 1945.
The Großer Zapfenstreich is a military ceremony performed in Germany and Austria. It is similar to the military tattoo ceremony performed in English-speaking countries, and is the most important ceremonial act executed by the German federal armed forces, the Bundeswehr, and by the Austrian federal armed forces Bundesheer. The Zapfenstreich is performed only during national celebrations and solemn public commemorations, to honour distinguished persons present at such special events. Examples are the farewell ceremony for a German federal president, or at the conclusion of large military exercises. It takes place in the evening hours and consists of a military formation of at least one military band, two platoons of armed infantrymen, and two lines of soldiers carrying torches, in total about 400 men.
The Wachbataillon is the German Bundeswehr's honour guard. The Wachbataillon number about 1,000 soldiers stationed in Berlin. It consists of seven active companies and belongs to the Streitkräftebasis of the Bundeswehr. The soldiers of the Wachbataillon often refer to themselves as Protter or Protokollsoldaten, meaning protocol soldiers.
The Border Troops of the German Democratic Republic was the border guard of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) from 1946 to 1990.
The Guard Regiment Hugo Eberlein, officially Wachregiment "Hugo Eberlein" and also known as NVA Wachregiment 2, was a military unit which provided security to the East German Ministry of National Defence. It was formed in 1956 as the Wachregiment der Hauptverwaltung Ausbildung. It had its location at the East German Ministry of National Defence in Strausberg suburb near Berlin. The regiment was named after the Communist Hugo Eberlein, a victim of Stalin's purges.
The Ministry of National Defense was the chief administrative arm of the East German National People's Army. The MND was modeled on the Ministry of Defense of the Soviet Union. The headquarters of the Ministry was in Strausberg near East Berlin. The Guard Regiment Hugo Eberlein provided security and guard services to the Ministry. The Ministry also had its own publishing house, Military publishing house of the German Democratic Republic.
Schlossbrücke is a bridge in the central Mitte district of Berlin, Germany. Built between 1821 and 1824 according to plans designed by Karl Friedrich Schinkel, it was named after the nearby City Palace (Stadtschloss). The bridge marks the eastern end of the Unter den Linden boulevard.
The East German Republic Day Parade of 1989 was a parade on Karl-Marx-Allee in East Berlin on 7 October 1989 commemorating the 40th anniversary of the establishment of East Germany. This was the last East German Republic Day Parade and the last major East German political event with the regime falling mere weeks later. In Germany, this parade is remembered as the end of "the great period of military parades".
Republic Day was an official holiday in East Germany, celebrated annually on 7 October from 1949 to 1989. Republic Day commemorates the anniversary of the establishment of the German Democratic Republic on 7 October 1949. On Republic Day, the Government of the GDR awarded many people the National Award of the GDR.
The Military Music Service of the National People's Army was made up of the Military Bands of the Nationale Volksarmee and the Corps of Drums of the Military Music Service.
In German military tradition, a Wachregiment is a regiment that also performs guard of honor duties. It is not to be confused with a Guards unit in Soviet military tradition.
The Scharnhorst Memorial on Unter den Linden avenue in Berlin's Mitte district commemorates the Prussian military reformer and freedom fighter Gerhard von Scharnhorst (1755–1813). Created from 1819 to 1822 by Christian Daniel Rauch in neoclassical style, it is a masterpiece of the Berlin school of sculpture.
The Großer Wachaufzug was a military ceremony and guard mounting in Berlin, the capital Germany, held on certain occasions at the Neue Wache. The building has been the center of guard duties performed since 1931.
The Bülow Memorial on Unter den Linden avenue in Berlin's Mitte district commemorates the Prussian army general and freedom fighter Friedrich Wilhelm Bülow von Dennewitz (1755–1816). Created from 1819 to 1822 by Christian Daniel Rauch in neoclassical style, it is a masterpiece of the Berlin school of sculpture.
