 Parades
are part of any soldier's life, but the Grenztruppen and the NVA
participated each year in the largest parade held in East Germany. The
annual parade was held on October 7 and honored the armed forces of East
Germany as well as the founding of the German Democratic Republic. Known
as the Ehrenparade, the event was held in East Berlin and featured marching units, including the Grenztruppen, but the highlight was the
stream of tanks, artillery, and mobile rocket launchers that rumbled down the
streets of East Berlin past the
reviewing stand of the East German leader. For NATO, it was a
great opportunity to examine the latest military hardware the East German
government was willing to show.The last parade was held in 1989 as the communist hold on East Germany was crumbling around East German leader Eric Honecker. It would be his last parade as he stepped down from office just over a week later as civil unrest continued throughout the nation and it became obvious the Soviets would not support the hard line East German leader any longer. Less than a month after he was forced out of office, the East German borders were opened. The pictures below were taken at the 1986 Ehrenparade. If you arrived early you could mill around the staging areas before the parade and look at the equipment at close range, and then reserve a space along the barriers before the crowds arrived. However, you had to stay alert because the East German soldiers manning the vehicles were known to shoot grease with their grease guns towards American military members. |
