East German Army Surplus
NVA • Strichtarn Raindrop Camo • Cold War DDR
Authentic surplus from the Nationale Volksarmee — the East German National People's Army that NATO rated as the best military in the entire Warsaw Pact. Our DDR collection features the iconic Strichtarn raindrop camouflage field gear, NVA parade helmets in Steingrau grey, Volksmarine naval items, GST pre-military training medals, leather tanker helmet liners, greatcoat straps, and Cold War uniforms from an army that ceased to exist on 2 October 1990 — the day before German reunification.
East German Army Surplus at Keep Shooting
Keep Shooting carries authentic surplus from the Nationale Volksarmee (NVA) — the National People's Army of the German Democratic Republic, which the majority of NATO officers rated as the best-trained, most disciplined, and best-led military in the entire Warsaw Pact. The NVA was formed on 1 March 1956 and dissolved on 2 October 1990 — one day before German reunification — during which time roughly 2.5 million East German men served in its ranks, with peak strength reaching 175,300 troops in 1987. Our DDR collection covers Strichtarn raindrop camouflage field gear, NVA parade helmets, Volksmarine naval items, GST pre-military training medals, leather helmet liners, Cold War uniforms, and field equipment from an army that no longer exists — making every piece a finite artifact of a vanished state.
The signature pattern of East German military surplus is Strichtarn — "Line Camouflage" — the iconic raindrop pattern that was issued to NVA troops from 1965 until the army's dissolution in 1990. Strichtarn was developed at the Karl-Marx-Stadt Research Institute for Textile Technology as a replacement for the earlier Flächentarn (also called Blumentarn or "flower camo") that had been in service since 1958. The NVA specifically wanted a new pattern because the Flächentarn looked too similar to Soviet camouflage, creating identification problems during joint Warsaw Pact exercises. The result was a design of broken vertical red-brown lines on a grey-green field — officially designated Kampfanzug 64 ("Combat Suit 64") and produced in two variants: Type 1 from 1965 to 1967, and the more common Type 2 from 1967 to 1990. Strichtarn closely resembles the Czechoslovak Rain Pattern (the same pattern used on our Czech M60 Raindrop Camouflage jacket), and both share ancestry with WWII-era Wehrmacht camouflage designs. Our East German Strichtarn Camo Summer Field Pants, the Strichtarn Grenade Pouch, and the Strichtarn 3-Finger Gloves all come from this same NVA issue program.
Beyond Strichtarn, Strichtarn was also exported in large quantities to communist movements and allied governments throughout Africa during the Cold War, where it earned the nickname "rice fleck" camouflage — making NVA Strichtarn one of the few Cold War camouflage patterns that saw genuine combat use, even though the NVA itself never fought a war. The NVA's only significant military action was participation in the 1968 Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia, where East German troops entered the country alongside Soviet, Polish, Hungarian, and Bulgarian forces to crush the Prague Spring reform movement. The NVA also deployed military advisors to communist states in Africa and the Middle East throughout the Cold War and was responsible for manning sections of the Berlin Wall — the most visible symbol of the Iron Curtain.
For collectors of Cold War headgear, our most distinctive NVA item is the East German NVA Parade Helmet. The NVA parade helmet is a lightweight dome-shaped helmet forged from vulcanized fiber or plastic, finished in the NVA's signature Steingrau ("stone grey") matte paint, and fitted with a Y-shaped leather chinstrap and an eight-tongued perforated leather liner. It retains the iconic "coal scuttle" silhouette of the classic German Stahlhelm — first unveiled during the NVA's inaugural parade on 1 May 1956 — and was worn exclusively by elite NVA guard regiments and ceremonial units during parades and state events. The parade helmet is one of the most recognizable Cold War collectibles in the German militaria market. We also carry the East German Leather Helmet Liner and the East German Grey Tanker Helmet Liner — the interior components from the NVA's steel M56 combat helmet and the tanker crewman's protective headgear respectively. The East German MP Helmet Cover is the Militärpolizei (military police) cover for the standard NVA field helmet.
Our East German naval collection covers the Volksmarine — the People's Navy of the DDR that patrolled the Baltic Sea throughout the Cold War. The East German Volksmarine Hat Ribbon is the original cap tally ribbon worn on the sailor's round cap, displaying the "Volksmarine" designation in gold thread — one of the most distinctive naval insignia pieces in Cold War European militaria. The East German Navy Wool Gloves are cold-weather issue from the Baltic fleet, and the East German Navy Shoulder Board Buttons are the small brass-finish insignia buttons from Volksmarine uniform shoulder boards.
For DDR institutional collectors, we carry two medals from the Gesellschaft für Sport und Technik (GST) — the "Society for Sport and Technology" that served as the DDR's mass-participation pre-military training organization. The GST trained East German youth in shooting, radio operation, first aid, parachuting, diving, and other skills that fed into NVA service, and its medal program recognized instructors (Ausbilder) who led these programs. Our GST Silver Ausbilder Medal and GST Bronze Ausbilder Medal are the original instructor recognition awards — genuine DDR state decorations from an organization that no longer exists, making them finite collectibles with documented provenance.
The remainder of our East German inventory covers the daily service and field gear that NVA soldiers used throughout the Cold War. The East German Army Uniform Jacket is the standard NVA service jacket in Steingrau grey. The East German Gray EM Shoulder Boards are the enlisted men's rank insignia boards. The East German NVA Yellow Tank Top is a barracks physical training garment. The East German Rain Coat is the standard NVA wet-weather issue. The East German NVA Map Case is the leather and canvas officer's map carrier, and the East German Leather Greatcoat Strap is the external carry strap used to roll and attach a heavy wool greatcoat to marching gear — a piece of field equipment that has been part of German military tradition since the Prussian Army.
East German surplus occupies a unique position in the Cold War collectibles market: the NVA was completely dissolved on 2 October 1990, its equipment was either absorbed by the Bundeswehr, sold to third countries, or released into the civilian surplus market, and no new NVA items will ever be manufactured. Every NVA item on this page is a finite artifact of a state that ceased to exist over 35 years ago, and the available supply shrinks each year as pieces are absorbed into private collections and museum holdings. Keep Shooting ships all East German Army surplus from our Pennsylvania warehouse with free shipping on orders over $49.95 and hassle-free returns. Whether you are a Cold War historian building a DDR display, a camouflage collector seeking original Strichtarn, a German militaria specialist, or a student of the Warsaw Pact alliance, every item in our East German collection is genuine Nationale Volksarmee issue from the army the West feared most behind the Iron Curtain.
Frequently Asked Questions — East German Army Surplus
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