“And now we have the third world war …”
The former head of the East German Land Forces warns in view of the Ukraine-Crisis before a military escalation in Europe. An interview with Horst Stechbarth
Interview: Peter Wolter
 Earlier Romania belonged to the Warsaw Pact – now practice the armed forces of the country together with NATO troops (April 21, 2015)
Photo: AP Photo / Octav Ganea
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Horst Stechbarth is Colonel-General retd. Of the dissolved 25 years ago the National People’s Army (NVA) of the GDR. From 1972 to 1989 he was Deputy Minister of National Defence and Chief of the Land Forces. He celebrated his 90th birthday on 13 April.
The victory over German fascism 70 years ago has brought Europe many decades of peace. He is now under threat. The writer Günter Grass has given the Ukraine conflict still warned shortly before his death, that a third world war could be imminent. How do you see that?
I have to go back a bit. How is one to deal with the Russian leadership after the fall? You had promised that NATO would not expand eastward, countries of the Warsaw Pact would not be included in the alliance. And what has happened? Step by step moved NATO approached the border of Russia. Then there was added the missile shield. It was believed that one could deal with the Russian partners as you want. In addition, it would also come when Boris Yeltsin would have remained president. Vladimir Putin has finally taken over the helm, paid and told Yeltsin’s debt in a short time: we now make our own policy.
The course did not fit into the strategy of US imperialism. Putin was treated from the beginning with distance. Add to that a long time before Ukraine had been chosen as a kind of interim government, as a candidate for inclusion in NATO. And while last year escalated the situation in Ukraine, the matter was added to the Crimea. The peninsula had been given away in the 50s by the then state and party leader of the USSR, Nikita Khrushchev, to Ukraine. Putin would not respond to the desire of the Crimean independence, then today would be the NATO fleet in the bases, which Russia had leased from the Ukraine. The southern flank of the country would thus be further weakened. Putin could not act differently at all, he would not otherwise more President. The population would have never forgiven him.
And now it comes to the eastern part of Ukraine, since live Russians. On the other side are the Ukrainian fascists, ahead with the Bandera-men. This figure represents Russians haters. I understand that Putin his brothers, who are now under attack, can go the distance.
What is the strategy of the West here?
US imperialism believed he could eliminate Putin, dismember Russia and closer to its goal of being able to access its resources. The Putin has once defeated, so it meets the concentrated hatred. It has managed to bring many neighbors of Russia in NATO position. What was missing was the southern flank with the Black Sea and the Crimea. And since Putin has made the West a spanner in the works.
The location is tough: The NATO consists of 28 states, if only one of which is involved in a conflict with Russia, all the others are obliged according to the contract for assistance. And now we have the third world war. The can only be prevented if the people stand up and say Russia has had to complain enough deaths in World War II, you would again start a war? Therefore now take military specialists like me by calling the NVA generals the word. We warn against the war!
In the book published by my book “Soldier in the East”, I had admitted a mistake, unfortunately I have to noticed too late: I had the wives of professional soldiers given too little space. The family had given the many dislocations ten or twelve times to move, always it was in the hands of women to cope with all that. And as I said to myself: the error you have to make up to your 90th birthday you invite the women with to express them a thank you for their lifetime achievements. They have their men back reserved for the heavy service in the NVA, they have contributed to the maintenance of military balance, so that there was no armed conflict.
Assuming that the apocalyptic fears of Günter Grass would come true: What would remain of central Europe do?
The Chernobyl accident has placed a warning sign, it showed us that risk potential is given by a radioactive contamination.
 Photo: JW archive
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Europe would bear the brunt of war, and with the use of nuclear weapons, our continent would no longer exist as a living and economic environment. This is an unimaginably horrible scenario, I am surprised that the public is so little awareness.
They were as Colonel-General Chief of the Land Forces, it is unlikely to be someone who can judge the military effectiveness of DDR better. Was there a special feature that the NVA different from other armies?
Our soldiers were better trained militarily. An example: When I was responsible for the training in the Department of Defense, I had the opportunity to influence programs and legislation to combat training. If we were to accept new rules from the Soviet Army, I let me get the appropriate NATO regulations using the Intelligence Directorate. . If it is, for example, said: After the target designation of the tank the first shot must be after ten seconds give, I have written purely in our version: After nine seconds.
Actually I wanted to take no gun in his hand – but after the Bundeswehr had been incorporated into NATO, which looked to me differently: We had better than NATO armies be so there is no war. That’s us also largely succeeded.
As part of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe, which came in the 1975 Helsinki at the end, it was agreed that both sides sign any major maneuvers as confidence-building measure and allow observers of the other side. Once when I was introduced to the minister my maneuver planning, he admonished me: “Boy, do not show everything,” But internally, I said to myself: No, you have to show everything, so that they know that is best not to tangle with us.
What could the NVA what the Bundeswehr could not?
As the Bundeswehr the NVA took over whose officers have been amazed, 80 percent of our tanks were namely aufmunitioniert – the rest were teaching combat vehicles that would have been little ready later. In case of war, we would have been in half an hour from the barracks and drove out into the concentration chamber. We could go to war from a standing start. This has many Bundeswehr officers quite startled when they took over our stocks.
As the situation was tense at times, one sees the fact that NATO had created a belt of nuclear mines on the border with East Germany. At that time was still taught at the General Staff Academy in Moscow: Panzer ago and through! They would then smacked by the nuclear zone and into the depths of space.
The stationed in the GDR Soviet army was just the way we prepared. All combat vehicles were aufmunitioniert. The Polish armed forces were able to be compared to ours. The armies of the other member states of the Warsaw Pact that looked a little different.
The GDR has supported many liberation movements throughout the world. Are also soldiers of the NVA been used?
We had many contacts with armed forces outside of our alliance, which in Cuba about or in Vietnam. Even to those in Egypt, Iraq, Syria, Angola. We have formed a part of the officers, including the ‘Officer School Otto Winzer “has been in Prora for this purpose founded. In Vietnam, we have set up a training center, I have even looked at the on the spot. In addition, specialists were sent from us to build a center for the decontamination of poison gas in Iraq. Otherwise, no one has been used abroad.
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