Volksmarine Books

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As promised in a previous thread, here is a list of Volksmarine related books that I own. I'll start with the limited number that are in English.

#1 - Die Nationale Volksarmee Issue #17, Fall 1997, published by Lee Stewart for The Society of East German Military Collectors. This issue is focused on the Volksmarine and is the only VM insignia and uniform reference in English. The 41 pages with line drawings and black and white photos cover VM insignia, badges and uniforms. It also provides a brief history of the VM as well as stand alone articles on the VM Combat Swimmer Unit 18 commemorative pennant and the Fast Attack Ship "Rudolf Egelhofer/Hiddensee".

[Jan Klaassen]

Haven't they got such thing these days anymore? :O

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#2 - The Three German Navies; Dissolution, Transition, and New Beginnings 1945-1960, by Douglas C. Peifer, University Press of Florida, 2002

Takes the reader through the last days of of the Kriegsmarine and the foundation of the People's Police Sea/Volskmarine (East Germany) and Bundesmarine (West Germany). Although it was originally written as a PhD thesis it is very readable and the section on East Germany is an invaluable English reference on the foundation and early development of the Volksmarine.

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#3 - Warship International articles by Dipl.-Ing. Hartman Ehlers:
- Issue No 1, 1991, The Transparent Enemy; A Few Days Inside the Volksmarine
- Issue No 3, 1991, The Naval Facilities at Peenemunde After the German Unification
- Issue No 1, 1992, Volksmarine der DDR; The Other German Navy

I found one issue on E-bay and got the other two through interlibrary loan. These articles provide extensive details and photos of VM combat ships as well as short histories of all of the VM Flotillas and naval bases. All in English of course.

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The remaining books are all in German

#4 - Volksmarine auf Wacht by Dieter Flohr, Robert Rosentreter and Peter Seemann, Militärverlag der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik 1983.

Lavishly illustrated with both color and black and white photos it's the best pictorial reference covering the Volksmarine.

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#5 - Die Volksmarine; Menschen, Meer, Matrosen by Deter Flohr and Peter Seemann, Steffen Verlag, 2009

This book was published with VM veterans in mind, in fact there is an earlier limited edition version that was published specifically for veterans. It's a larger format book than Volksmarine auf Wacht but suprisingly the photos are smaller and except for the cover they are all black and white. It contains several photos shown in Volksmarine auf Wacht, but there are a significant number of never before seen photos that makes this book a valuable resource. The background text is also more extensive.

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#6 - Die Kampfschwimmer der Volksmarine by Horst Kerzig, Jürgen Knittel, Kurt Schulze ,Das Neue Berlin, 2008

A thick, well illustrated 320 page book on Kamfschwimmerkommando der Volksmarine. However it's not a coffee table photo book, it has extensive German text that may be challenging to those with limited understanding of German.

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#7 - Volksmarine Betrachtung einer deutschen Flotte 1950-1990, Dieter Flohr, MV Taschenbuch Extra, 2005.

It's a small, paperback 213 page illustrated history of the Volksmarine with lots of black and white photos. I picked it up at a bookstore in Rostock, so I don't know if it's widely available.

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#8 - Volksmarine der DDR. Deutsche Seestreitkräfte im Kalten Krieg by Friedrich Elchlepp, Fritz Minow, Walter Jablonsky, Manfield Rosenberg, Mittler Verlag, 1999

This is a hard core academic book on the history of the Volksmarine with lots of text and very few photographs. However if you understand German it's probably the most comprehensive and well researched history of the VM. If your German is poor, like mine, it can be a hard slog to read.

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#9 - Die Volksmarine der DDR, Siegfried Breyer, Peter Joachim Lapp, Bernard & Graefe Verlag, 1985.

Written in West Germany before unification it was cutting edge for the time. Three quarters of the book is devoted to different VM ship types. There are four outstanding color plates of VM Flags/Standards and Insignia. There is also a small section at the beginning that provides background and the structure of the VM over time.

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#10 - bei der Marine; 1954-1957 als Freiwilliger in den Seestreitkräften der DDR by Lothar Borbe, NORA Verlag, 2006.

Paperback, this is an excellent personal memoir of Borbe's service in the early NVA Seestreitkräfte. Lots of personal photographs and documents. Probably not for someone with a limited knowledge of German.

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#11 - Kommando Ostsee; Vom Matrosen zum Admiral by Theodor Hoffman, Mittler Offene Worte, 1995

This is the autobiography of Admiral Theodor Hoffman's career in the VM. It's 257 pages and there are 15 pages of black and white photos chronicling his career in the VM.

He wrote another book on his service as the Minister of Defense and head of the East German armed forces, but it's expensive and hard to find.

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#12 - Marineoffiziere aus Mecklenburg-Vorpommern 1849-1990, editors Gerhard Beckmann, Dr. Klaus-Ulrich Keubke, Ralf Mumm, Schriften zur Geschichte Mecklenburgs, 2006.

A volume dedicated to naval officers from Mecklenburg-Vorpommern which contains extensive and well illustrated biographies on two former Volksmarine Chiefs; Vizeadmiral Hendrik Born and Admiral Theodor Hoffmann.

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#13 - Vom Kustenschutzboot zum Raketenschiff: Schiffe und Boote der Volksmarine by Hans Mehl, Knut Schafer, Ulrich Israel, Militärverlag der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik, 1986.

Printed in the DDR time it's well illustrated with black and white photos and line drawings. It also contains 30 pages of color photos. Most of are of VM ships, but there are a few of personnel.

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Haven't they got such thing these days anymore? :O

The Society of East German Military Collectors has been gone for about a decade now. There however are several former members here. The Die Nationale Volksarmee was an outstanding printed publication for the pre-internet age. Fortunately now days we have the WAF DDR forum that provides more immediate feedback on our collecting interests.