ABSTRACT
The 'Volkskammer' passed the Act setting up the National People's Army on 18 January 1956. Under this Act the NVA is subordinate to the Minister of National Defence who leads and organises the armed forces. Even though the Soviet Union is in effective control of the armed forces of the GDR it is still not entirely clear why the Soviet leadership pressed on with the building up of new Streitkrafte in their zone of Germany. Armed forces are one of the attributes of sovereignty and it seems likely that the sed leaders prevailed upon the Russians to allow an East German army to give the GDR credibility. Federal Republic of Germany introduced compulsory national service in 1956. It coped with the indifference of the majority and opposition of a considerable minority of its youth. The GDR felt compelled to wait until 1962, until the Berlin Wall had prevented large numbers of potential recruits voting with their feet against military service.
