Early DDR boots ???

[olivyaya]

Hello guys... I would need you help on this pair of boots ; the seller claims it could be a very early NVA pair...
What would you think ??

[iannima]

The seller could be right but on the other hand he could not
The truth is that we know sooooo little about early soldier boots that it is difficult to go one way or the other with any degree of confidence. It is easily observable that whilst coming across 1950s or 1960s officer boots is not common, but not unheard of... soldier boots of a similar vintage are nowhere to be seen, and the few that have appeared lacked any markings to identify them precisely. The only thing I can offer you is this photograph which -to my knowledge- is the one and only proving that soldiers too must have had leather soled boots in the early days of the NVA.

Whether the pair you show are of that ilk... is -I am afraid- beyond me to say...

[olivyaya]

Thank you Matteo for sharing your knowldge in this matter... and for this great picture...
From what I can see, the sole of one of the boots in your pic (see red arrow) seems to be different from the boots in my pics... it looks like there is a large metal piece in the front (just beneath the toes)...
I do not know whether boot soles would always be "nailed" in the same way...
Moreover, what troubles me is the inside black fabric loops that really look like the ones we can find in DDR boots...

[olivyaya]

./.

[iannima]

From what I can see, the sole of one of the boots in your pic (see red arrow) seems to be different from the boots in my pics... it looks like there is a large metal piece in the front (just beneath the toes)...
I do not know whether boot soles would always be "nailed" in the same way...
Moreover, what troubles me ...

I too have had a night of troubled sleep thinking about these boots ... However, as the rose-fingered Dawn emerges from a tranquil sea... I have risen to err more on the side of their being genuine than not .
There are several things that point towards DDR production: the unlined shaft and those pull-up loops that you mention, definitely. We know that later, 1960s, boots had the shaft lined but that they then reverted to an unlined one. The stitched sole is done to a traditional pattern that was used in the early NVA.
I would not make much of the missing metal toe cap. These do not survive ANY amount of time. I am willing to bet that after any Große Wachaufzug, every Wednesday afternoon, a number of them could have been recovered from the asphalt . I have tried using them on my own shoes and boots and the rate of operational losses was quite high . What is rather new is the usage of the hobnails. But then it does make sense after all, because a leather soled boot would just slide in the mud.
If the price was not astronomical, I would go for them

[Viktor]

Genossen,
I too see the touch of the Progressive German State, but the heel plate does look like a Bund Parade boots "iron", this Command also has no historical records of the period DDR Boot Studs patterns used, likely they will be to Gitlerite pattern.

I wonder if Genosse iannima will get anything done at his Rezidency while this Topic runs.....

[uscob]

Genossen,
I too see the touch of the Progressive German State, but the heel plate does look like a Bund Parade boots "iron".

I wonder if Genosse iannima will get any thing done at his Rezidency while this Topic runs.....

At first I must say, that I never saw hobnailed DDR Boots, but that doesn't means anything. Heel Irons I had from Rummelsburg Prison but I still have some toe Irons. sadly A friend gave all the other Repair stuff like wooden Nails etc. to a childcare center for the kids to play.

[olivyaya]

I incidentally found this pic while surfing...
no idea of its origin...

[olivyaya]

and 2 repros of WWi and WWii ... the sole is quite similar

http://www.guntia-militaria-shop.de/...ducts_id=47166

http://www.troph-e-shop.com/de/knobe...utm_medium=cpa

[SanderMan]

This is a great thread that adresses a question that's been on my mind for a long time!

[iannima]

This is a great thread that adresses a question that's been on my mind for a long time!

I am glad I am not the only one whose sleep is troubled by such questions

[SanderMan]

I am glad I am not the only one whose sleep is troubled by such questions

Matteo,

I'm sure there are many like us

[tony james]

i have a east german army magazine that interveiws a boot cobbler who repairs boots and installs wartime hobnails on boots for the wachregiment.
i also have a pair of worn officer boots that have hobnails.

tony

[iannima]

i have a east german army magazine that interveiws a boot cobbler who repairs boots and installs wartime hobnails on boots for the wachregiment.
i also have a pair of worn officer boots that have hobnails.

tony

Wow! I am so envious! Dare I ask you to do a scan of the relevant page and to post a photograph of your boots? Please...

[iannima]

Scouting my archives I have uncovered a couple of photographs. The first come from an Ebay auction: