New Book Uniforms of the East German Military 1949-1990

[ehrentitle]

The "new" book Uniforms of the East German Military 1949-1990 arrived at my house today.



I did a quick comparison with the original German version. It’s a word for word English translation of the German book Militärische Uniformen in der DDR 1949-1990 by Klaus-Ulrich Keubke and Manfred Kunz which for many years has been the bible on NVA uniforms. The photos are the same, but the formatting is different, so photos don’t always appear on the same page or in the same size. Most are smaller and some have been cropped. A few are larger. Color plates are about the same, but some have also been edited. However this is a great English reference for those of us who are challenged when reading technical German.

It's available through the publisher, Shiffer Books on their website at: http://www.schifferbooks.com/uniform...1990-5414.html Cost is 69.99, which is expensive, but it's well worth the price for a primary reference in English this subject.

We will bring a copy to the Fort Lee (Virginia) Military Show on Saturday for those of you who will be their and are interested in checking out the book.

[Mike G.]

Thanks for the update on this book Kevin.

[Gordon Craig]

Kevin,

Thanks for the info. Nice to know it is reprinted in English. I have the older English translation of the first book which leave much to be desired. I hope this English translation is clear and accurate?

Regards,

Gordon

[Michael O'Keefe]

NVA Uniformen der DDR in Englisch ! Eureka !

Congratulations to Schiffer for finally publishing DDR/NVA 1949-1990 in English, but why has it taken 24 years since the dissappearabnce of the Berlin Wall for this to happen ! For over twenty years I approached several likely British Military History Publishers for a comprehensive Book on former East German History. I experienced being ignored or receiving a 'Lost for Words' type of reply. The British Book Market is a delerict creature, where any Military History after 1945 is virtually non existent, particularly the Warsaw Pact era, whilst the British Public is suffocated with a tiresome excess of WW2 ! Complicated further that German Publishes prohibited a foreign language translation of thier DDR Books, as I have come to halt with some translations.

[Michael O'Keefe]

NVA Uniformen der DDR 1949-1990

Gordon, To the best of knowledge the 'Old Time' English Translation you are refering to, relate to the final 1990 DDR Publication. This only covers NVA History FROM 1956 to (vaguely) 1986. the revised and expanded editions, which first appeared in 2003 and again in 2005 (different Publisher, second time) covered fully from `1949 to 1990. I have copies of all three versions. The new English edition maybe high priced, but so is Bunderswehr History 1955 to 2010. NVA Uniformen Books in German have become low priced on Amazon.de or Amazon.co.uk

[Gordon Craig]

Michael,

Thanks for the update. I didn't know that there had been two additional translations of the 1956-86 book.I intend to purchase a copy of this new translation from Schiffer to add to my library. Two good reasons for this;
1-an English translation makes life so much easier;
2-I should support Canadian publishing companies!

Regards,

Gordon

[ehrentitle]

I have all three of revised and expanded editions. They are nearly identical with the exception of the covers and of course the newest version is in English. I ordered the 2003 version (a limited run from a local press) directly from Keubke and he was kind enough to sign it. I believe other forum members did the same at the time. The 2005 imprint was a mass market edition and is widely available in Germany for a reasonable price.

[ehrentitle]

Kevin,

Thanks for the info. Nice to know it is reprinted in English. I have the older English translation of the first book which leave much to be desired. I hope this English translation is clear and accurate?

Regards,

Gordon

Gordon, The publisher used a professional translation firm, Omicron Language Solutions, to translate the book. From what I've read so far it's a very accurate translation. Some sections I did have to read twice, just because of the technical nature of the description. But they did get things right like calling the Fallschirmdienstes the Parachute Service and not NVA Parachutists.

The real value of the book is the English text on the color uniform and insignia plates as well as the Wear Regulations of Insignia and Decorations and the Uniform Lexicon sections at the back of the book. It will benefit anyone who wants to determine exactly how far down on the sleeve insignia is worn to the proper placement of ribbon bars.

[ehrentitle]

I did a bit more reading of the book tonight and need to revise my opinion about the translation. The book was translated by a person or persons who had a mastery of German language, but it is clear that they have no depth of knowledge of the topic of NVA uniforms and insignia. So the translation is not nuanced, but rather a near literal coversion of the original text.

They don't talk about shoulder boards, but rather shoulder straps, and the description for caps is also interesting. In some places they translate the names of things, in other they use the orignial names. That being said it's still a good reference book, once you overcome these minor irritants in translation.

[Tom B]

So I guess the "New" edition is ok & worth purchasing ? Tom

[ehrentitle]

So I guess the "New" edition is ok & worth purchasing ? Tom

I would say so, unless your German reading skills are very good, the German version is cheaper. For me it's a time saver, I can just just go to this book and not have to think about what a certain phrase means in the German version once I translate it using an On-line search engine.

[RJKG]

I did a bit more reading of the book tonight and need to revise my opinion about the translation. The book was translated by a person or persons who had a mastery of German language, but it is clear that they have no depth of knowledge of the topic of NVA uniforms and insignia. So the translation is not nuanced, but rather a near literal coversion of the original text.

They don't talk about shoulder boards, but rather shoulder straps, and the description for caps is also interesting. In some places they translate the names of things, in other they use the orignial names. That being said it's still a good reference book, once you overcome these minor irritants in translation.

Whilst I haven't read the translation, nor do I know the nationality of the translator, I suspect that some of the 'minor irritants in translation' might be down to the linguistic nuances between British English and American English !

Shoulder straps or epaulettes (French origin !) are the normal terms used in the British services rather than shoulder 'boards' (which is never used !).

Likewise, 'visor caps' are peaked caps; collar 'tabs' are collar patches, etc., etc.

[Gordon Craig]

I would say that RJKG has hit the nail on the head. A native German speaker would use British terms rather than those common in North America. In Canada we use a mixture of both with American terms being prominent. I have often heard it said that Canada and the U.S. are two countries separated by a common language.

Regards,

Gordon

[meddy]

Thank you for posting this I think I may well invest in a copy

[Dallasfan]

I have both German versions , so I don't need the new one .
Also I prefer the original German language , as I can speak and read German .
The front covers of the German versions is also much nicer , with the Schellenbaumträger on it :-)



Regards , Johan