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NVA photo courtesy of Robert Stefanowicz |
In
February 1986, The West German Interior Ministry announced that for the
first women were deployed as part of East Germany's Grenztruppen.1
The inclusion for women was apparently due to manpower shortages as more
border guards and other military members were siphoned off to perform
support in civilian industries. Although women served in the
Grenztruppen they were not deployed in line units for border
patrolling. Their primary duties were administrative, technical, and
medical support. The Grenztruppen, as in the case of most combat
units around the world, remained a man's world.
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| A female member of the Grenztruppen (right) stands by as a comrade checks the water supply near a guard tower. - 2/11 ACR photo courtesy of Erwin Ritter |  |
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1 The Stars and Stripes, Wednesday, Feb 19, 1986 |
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