Talk:Glossary of German military terms

Comments
Right now there is a little cross-over with the Gl. of the Third Reich article. We can weed these out in time. Most terms come from my knowledge of German and stuff encountered in my reading. I have some references I'm also going to out in. I think this list will be really useful to people doing research or building models or even learning German! I see potential for a WWII American/Japanese/Italian/British Glossaries that might make a series. Dunno yet what the limits/potentials are. Dangers are of turning Wikipedia into a large Dictionary of glossaries; but I think there is a definite place for things like this if one doesn't get too carried away with it. A lot of these terms came from my model building: tank descriptions on boxes and part descriptions and terms on the instructions ("nicht kleben!") and such. ALL contributions welcome. List is far, far, far from complete. Don't see something that belongs here? Add it! Could use someone who is more expert in tank detachments/army organization, ranks and such.--DanielCD 02:11, 27 Jul 2004 (UTC)

Can somebody check the spelling of Goldfasan? I've seen "pheasant" rendered "fasen". Also, check the translation of "kriegsgericht"; I'd render it "military court", not (precisely) "court martial" (tho I suspect that's the common usage). Trekphiler 07:53, 14 December 2005 (UTC)

Wehrmacht
I use to play Panzer Leader when I was a kid. I liked the game. But I am certainly no expert on German military terms. Could you add when to use Reichwehr and Wermahct? At what periods and times does one use this terms.WHEELER 23:10, 27 Jul 2004 (UTC)

All three terms are in there, including Bundeswehr. Before 1935 it was Reichswehr (state or national defence), then the Nazis changed it to Wehrmacht (defense force/resistance power), and then in 1945 it was changed to Bundeswehr (people's defense) to clear away past Nazi association.--DanielCD 13:31, 28 Jul 2004 (UTC)


 * Err, Bundesweher= "Federal Defense" (Bund = "federation, union") Solicitr (talk) 17:03, 28 November 2010 (UTC)

There were no German army between 1945 and 1955! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 194.95.59.130 (talk) 16:50, 25 May 2009 (UTC)

Yea, what he said. --DanielCD (talk) 00:04, 28 November 2010 (UTC)

Hmm, some odd translations
Fahnenheid = literally: "Oath to the flag". Could still be an Euphemism for an oath to Hitler directly :-)

Bundeswehr = Federal defence.

Kim Bruning 18:37, 28 Jul 2004 (UTC)

Peoples' is sort of Federal, can roughly be the same. But you are right, Federal certainly works better. :)) --DanielCD 20:20, 28 Jul 2004 (UTC)

Ja, wouldn't "People's defense" be Volkswehr? I speak no German, though, so I'm just going off the cognates and other German words which have been appropriated by English-speakers. Ellsworth 17:49, 14 Sep 2004 (UTC)

Well, words can have dual meanings/connotations, etc. No biggie.

To all: Please help to combine definitions where terms are really similar. I think SS has more than one entry; I'll look at it again later. But article size is really big now. Try to put appropriate entries in Glossary of the Third Reich. THANKS ! to all the contributers though; this is probably the best such glossary I've ever seen! --DanielCD 14:46, 21 Dec 2004 (UTC)


 * Volkswehr is "people's defense"; & wasn't the "militia" at the end of the war called Volkswehr? Or was it Volkssturm? Trekphiler 07:32, 14 December 2005 (UTC)

"Völkisch" and other non-military terms?
The definition of "völkisch" has been changed, but I don't think either version is really a military term. There are others. This article is large; should we weed out the ones that aren't strictly military?

If you can find ones that might better go into Glossary of the Third Reich or elsewhere, please do. I agree that due to size constraints we should prune it some. I've done it in the past, but people keep adding more. Adding more is good, but anyone who wants to prune out the non-military stuff is welcome to do so. Also, anyone who wants to make another article for the WWII German operations names, that would be nice and would help with size. --DanielCD 17:32, 6 Feb 2005 (UTC)

Greuelerzählungen does not mean "numerous atrocities". It means "horror stories" or "stories about atrocities". —Preceding unsigned comment added by 84.62.244.56 (talk) 15:03, 15 December 2007 (UTC)

Fasan is the correct spelling of the German word for pheasant. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 84.62.244.56 (talk) 15:15, 15 December 2007 (UTC)

There are still quite a lot of words in the list without any or only weak relation to military. I'll list them here for checking. I also included wrong translations.

Abschnitt — sector, district. Also civil! Abwehr — "defense" (same as in English, the word refers to sporting, boardgame or other defense as well as military defense. Ami — German slang for an American soldier. Amt — office, main office branch. "Arbeit macht frei" - the slogan never appeared in military contexts. The SS guards of the concentration camps were organized militarylike, but the slogan was restricted to the camp propaganda. Ausschreitungen — bloody atrocities. Wrong translation and non-military term. "Ausschreitungen" is represented in English either by "attack" or "riot" (when speaking of groups of attackers), though it can go as far as killing. The word invokes the idea of "stepping out of line", behaving very inappropriately. I've never heard it in a military context. BDM - The Bund Deutscher Mädel was, in fact, a Hitler Youth formation, but it has nothing to do with the military, not even the SS. Bürger - means citizen, but how is that a military term? Daimler-Benz (DB) - it is an engineering firm still in existence today. It did produce military technology, but that does not make it a military term imho. Dienstdolch - service daggers were in use rather in the Hitler Youth, the SA and the SS than in the military. Einwohner — resident, inhabitant. Eisenbahn — "iron road"; railroad. Correct translation, non-military term. Endlösung or Endziel — the "Final Solution"; correctly explained, but a political term, not a military one. Entmenscht — dehumanized (see above) Fahne - banner (see above) Feigling - also civil. Führer — "leader". Correct translation, but neither used only in reference to Hitler nor a military term (though "Führer" like in "Truppführer" is in use in military contexts) Gemeindepolizei — local police. Gemeinschaft — community. Nonmilitary terms. Even under Nazi rule, the local police was not integrated into the army. Gestapo - the Gestapo was not a military organization, but a secret police and means of terror. Gift - poison. Not a military term. Gleichschaltung - Not a military, though a specific nazi term. Not literally "coordination", there is no word in English for it. Goldfasan - Not a military, but a nazi term. Grenze — border. NMT. Greuelerzählungen - "atrocity tales". Nazi propaganda term for accounts of atrocities committed by Germans in WWII. Handelsmarine - NMT. Hannoversche Maschinenbau AG - See Daimler-Benz. Hauptamt Sicherheitspolizei Heimat - NMTs Henschel - See Daimler-Benz. Hitler-Jugend (HJ) - Nazi term, not a military one. HJ-Fahrtenmesser - see above. Konzentrationslager (KZL) - see "Arbeit macht frei". Kriminalpolizei (Kripo) Krupp (Kp) Krupp-Daimler (KD) - NMT. Landratsamt — civil administration office. The translation says it. laufende Nummer - not restricted to military use. Maybach (M) - Maschinenfabrik Augsburg-Nürnberg Maschinenfabrik Niedersachsen Hannover (MNH) - all see Daimler-Benz Mißliebige — undesirables. - NMT. Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei (NSDAP) — National Socialist German Worker's Party – Nazi Party. Nationalsozialistische Führungsoffiziere (NSFO) — National Socialist Leadership Officers. Nationalsozialistische Volksfürsorge (NSV) — National Socialist People's Welfare centers. - all correctly explained, but not military. Though there were very intimate relations of the military and the nazis even before 1933, and regular military was a big part of the nazi crimes in eastern europe, the NSDAP has in itself no military function or meaning. Norden — north. NSKK — the Nationalsozialistisches Kraftfahrerkorps, or National Socialist Motor Corps. Osten Ostjuden Ostpreußen Panjewagen - NMTs. Porsche (P) - Quist - see Daimler-Benz Regierung — government. Reich — realm, empire. Reichsarbeitsdienst (RAD) — compulsory labor service in Nazi Germany. Reichsbahn — railway system. Rotes Kreuz SA - NMTs (though SA is a nazi term for the party's paramilitary "stormtroopers"). Sanität - highly unusual word. schnell Schutzpolizei Schutzhaft Schutzhaftbefehl - NMTs Schweinereien - though "Schweinerei" was in use in the military, the word was not (and is not today) restricted to attacks on civilians. It can refer to anything regarded as very vile or dirty. SD Sicherheitsdienst (SD) Sicherheitspolizei - NMTs. The "Sicherheitspolizei" is not genuinely related to the NSDAP (though of course the nazis controlled it after 1933), it existed before nazi rule. Sipo (See above) Sippenverhaftung - more common: Sippenhaft. NMT. Sonderbehandlung - correctly explained, but NMT. Sonderreferat Sturmabteilung (SA) Süden — south Swastika Todesmärsche Untermenschen Urlaub verdächtige Elemente/Personen Vichy France völkisch ethnic Germans Volksgemeinschaft Wagen Westen Zeit - NMTs Zuges — platoon. ("Zug" is the word for "platoon", "Zuges" the genitive singular) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 141.35.184.181 (talk) 19:00, 12 July 2009 (UTC)

Franctireure
2 problems. One, it isn't strictly "terrorist", tho I don't doubt the Germans felt like it, but guerrilla. Second, it isn't German, it's French, literally "free shooter". Trekphiler 07:34, 14 December 2005 (UTC)

Gustloff
I deleted this: While true, it's not a military term. Also, it has a smell of POV to me. Trekphiler 08:14, 14 December 2005 (UTC)
 * Wilhelm Gustloff -- A German hospital ship sunk by a Soviet submarine's torpedo attack on January 30, 1945. The sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff is the single deadliest sinking in maritime history, killing between 6,000 and 10,000 people, most of whom were civilian refugees and wounded German soldiers.

Taking the Fall
I question describing Fall as "operational codename". My understanding of the term suggests a planning document, as in "Plan Orange", as opposed to "Operation Neptune". Trekphiler 08:24, 14 December 2005 (UTC)

Tiger
I deleted this:
 * "(The name was also the operational code name for a British convoy to Egypt in May 1941.)"

While true, it isn't a German term... Trekphiler 08:34, 14 December 2005 (UTC)

American Terminology within German terms
I am under the impression that this is merely German military slang. I am 100% certain that the Eagle's Nest is not known as that in German, it is the Kehlstein Haus.

There are other terms in the mix. Are these to stay or to be deleted?TchussBitc 13:07, 31 August 2006 (UTC)


 * It's a multipurpose glossary. There's nothing that says it's simply German language terms. If there is something like the Kehlstein Haus, that would likely make a great addition to the definition. Also, I don't see any problem with mentioning that the English terms are only known in English and don't originate from German. There may need to be some tightening of additions, but don't just start chopping. --DanielCD 15:19, 31 August 2006 (UTC)


 * I added Kehlstein Haus to the definition. --DanielCD 15:26, 31 August 2006 (UTC)

Wiktionary
This isn't a candidate for Wiktionary since it isnt a simple definition and if you did move it you would also need to move everything in the entire Category:Glossaries. --DanielCD 14:30, 10 October 2006 (UTC)

2007-02-6 Automated pywikipediabot message
--CopyToWiktionaryBot 23:59, 6 February 2007 (UTC)

Watch your language
Speaking no German (but having read about the German military for yrs...), I have 2 questions: Abteilung (Abt.) doesn't mean "battalion", does it? That's battalion (yep, same as English), isn't it? Plural battalionen? And, isn't the plural for Einsatzkommandos Einsatzkommandoen? Trekphiler 03:48, 3 March 2007 (UTC)


 * Abteilung is more of a general word meaning (in a mil. sense) "unit", or possibly "section, department". As for Kommandos, the plural for that is actually Kommandos, with just the "s", so Einsatzkommandos would be right. --DanielCD 04:30, 3 March 2007 (UTC)


 * While Abteilung literally means "detachment" (away-part-ing), in the German military usage it became the standard term for battalion equivalents in nearly every branch except the infantry and cavalry. A Schwerer Panzerabteilung comprised three tank companies, commanded (usually) by a major- i.e. a battalion.--Solicitr (talk) 17:09, 28 November 2010 (UTC)

Jawohl!
jawohl — simply the word "yes" with the emphatic "wohl", which one might translate as "Yes, indeed!" or "Absolutely yes!" Widely used in WWII, it became so strongly associated with the war, that it is not used in the modern German Army (the Heer). Thats not right, you have to say "jawohl" and not only "ja". Perhaps they changed it after a "safe time distance" to the WWII. They reintroduced some other things too. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 212.201.85.163 (talk) 18:02, 13 April 2007 (UTC).

Jawohl is simply emphatic. It is not only military. I think that impression only comes from non-German speakers watching WWII movies. It is also an adverb. "Das habe ich jawohl gemacht!" means somthing like "I did so do it!" —Preceding unsigned comment added by 84.62.244.56 (talk) 15:11, 15 December 2007 (UTC)

For sure this word is in use ... —Preceding unsigned comment added by 84.155.78.42 (talk) 20:46, 16 November 2008 (UTC)

The term "Jawohl" was still in use when I served my time in the Bundeswehr in the early 90s. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 194.95.59.130 (talk) 16:36, 25 May 2009 (UTC)
 * Whoever said that the Bundeswehr does not use Jawohl - I wonder in which Bundeswehr he served. It is one of the first things to associate with military style for a German, so even from this point of view, it wouldn't simply have been possible to change that. Also, they didn't reintroduce things they were afraid to introduce in 1956 - rather the other way round (due to 68s movement pressure etc). It is true that if you are on colloquial terms with your NCOs and answer a Jawohl or the, actually, only correct form "Jawohl Herr e.g. Oberfeldwebel", you might hear a "Ein Ja hätte mir genügt" ("A simple yes would have sufficed for me") but that's a question of particular style, and not present in boot camps. (However, the even more military-sounding "Jawoll" is not in use in the military, nor, I think, ever was.) The German sentence above should have been "Das habe ich ja wohl gemacht", with an emptyspace, and it has nothing to do with Jawohl. But, yes, it is correct German to say Jawohl instead of Ja, just as it would be correct English to say "Yes, Sir" (emphasis on the first syllable, not only on the second) to a person you call Sir.--77.4.79.32 (talk) 00:16, 13 December 2011 (UTC)

Jawohl is not specifically a military term, and remains widely used in german language until today. It is an overexuberant variation of "yes", "yes indeed" seems to be an accurate translation. "Jawohl" is not an adverb. Speaking of "Das habe ich jawohl gemacht!" as an example of jawohl as an adverb: the correct sentence would be "Das habe ich ja wohl gemacht!" which is, from the linguistic point of view, something completely different. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 85.4.138.131 (talk) 13:13, 3 August 2012 (UTC)

FuG & Ersatz
FuG (Funk-Gerät, radio or radar transceiver, many types) abreviation appears in quite a few texts. Perhaps it may be added here. Pavel Vozenilek 01:47, 14 October 2007 (UTC)

Also the word ersatz does appear in many WWII related texts. Pavel Vozenilek 23:12, 24 October 2007 (UTC)

Ersatz means replacement. Ersatzteil means replacement part - from Teil, part. Of course it appears all over the place. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 84.62.244.56 (talk) 15:07, 15 December 2007 (UTC)


 * Also, Ersatz, for a strange reason (it does not have this meaning in the German language, besides this bureaucratism) means something like recruitment. Hence, these offices are known as Kreiswehrersatzämter. --77.4.79.32 (talk) 00:19, 13 December 2011 (UTC)

Looking for German term
I thought there was a German term for a threat that included killing a German soldier who did not follow orders. The threat was that the soldier would be killed along with every living member of his family and his extended family. I have been looking for it but I cannot find it. If someone knows of this term please post it here. I'm doing research for a book and I'm not finding the German term I'm looking for.

AustinFictionWriter (talk) 18:13, 25 November 2007 (UTC)


 * I honestly cannot recall ever hearing such a term. Askari Mark (Talk) 02:51, 26 November 2007 (UTC)


 * It certainly happened, but I never heard a single term used to describe it, either. Rumiton (talk) 11:39, 18 February 2009 (UTC)

maybe you mean "Sippenhaft" (= clan custody, collective responsibility of relatives, clan liability). But this was not a threat against a common soldier. I remember that Hitler said that the figures of the 20 July plot and all of their relatives have to be killed. Fact is, the relatives were not killed, but they were questioned! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 194.95.59.130 (talk) 16:47, 25 May 2009 (UTC)

Tommy cooker
According to M4 Sherman the German Tiger crews called the Sherman tanks for Tommy cookers, because they easily blew up. What's that in German? --Regards, Necessary Evil (talk) 17:45, 1 July 2008 (UTC)

The Chrysler petrol engines often caught fire without enemy help. The name was Tommy Kocher. Rumiton (talk) 11:38, 18 February 2009 (UTC)
 * Sorry- the malign influence of the movie Patton again, I fear. Petrol/gasoline engines were not the problem (all German tanks used them too)- the problem was poor ammunition stowage, a design defect eventually rectified by the use of glycerine-solution 'tubs.' In many cases "brewed-up" Shermans were found to have their fuel tanks intact and unburned.--Solicitr (talk) 17:13, 28 November 2010 (UTC)

KGzbV
I see this has been added with the translation Kampf Geschwader... I have also seen Kampf Gruppe (roughly battle wing) and this makes more sense. Also they flew a variety of aircraft, incl Heinkels. Comments? Rumiton (talk) 11:33, 18 February 2009 (UTC)
 * zbV in German usually means zur besondere verwendung (for special purposes) which in English roughly means "supernumerary" or extra to establishment.139.48.25.60 (talk) 20:57, 19 May 2009 (UTC)

To clarify: what belongs here and what doesn't?
I'm fairly confused. At least two thirds of the terms don't belong here, in my humble opinion anyway (I'm a native German speaker and have some decent military understanding). There are two types of words here that bother me: 1.) Terms which have nothing to do with the military (Eisenbahn, Gift, Grenze, tot, Zeit). If someone were to find one of these in a book or something, they could easily look them up in a dictionary. This page should be for stuff you don't find in a dictionary. 2.) Nazi Germany related vocabulary with no relation to the military whatsoever. Yeah yeah, here comes the German trying to clean up the past ... but actually Gestapo, BDM, "Arbeit macht Frei" ... these have nothing to do with the military. This whole page reads like a glossary of Nazi terms. One can undoubtedly argue that things like the BDM, Hitlerjugend oder the Gestapo were organised in a military-like fashion, but then again everything was organised in a military, or rather paramilitary-like fashion. In my opinion, the only Nazi era terms which should be in this list is vocabulary directly related to the Wehrmacht or one of its branches Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine or Waffen-SS (as de facto fourth branch). No Allgemeine-SS, no Nazi Party organisations (you could fill a list then times larger than this one), no Shoah vocabulary (I really don't want to start a discussion about the Wehrmacht's involvment, so please ...) Anyway, in terms of what I would consider a true glossary of military terms, check out this German wiktionary page on military terms. Obviously that's way too extensive, but there's some very important stuff there like "abseilen" or "Biwak" that any soldier learns on day one. So, before I start cleaning up and then someone comes along and says this is not what a glossary should look like or that it's not NPOV because KZ guards wore uniforms and uniforms are military and so this belongs here too ... well, what does belong here and what doesn't? -Gruendlich (talk) 21:58, 9 March 2009 (UTC)
 * This site has evolved and grown quickly. I think most of the terms now here are of interest, but I agree we have departed from a strictly military context. Perhaps the page should be renamed Glossary of German WW2-related terms? Rumiton (talk) 12:26, 28 October 2009 (UTC)

Feldwebel
"...the most junior of the unteroffiziere mit portpee". What is a portpee? Rumiton (talk) 12:26, 28 October 2009 (UTC)


 * As you were, I worked it out. Should be Portepee, a swordknot. I'll make the change. Rumiton (talk) 13:01, 29 October 2009 (UTC)
 * A portepee was originally a certain item of the officers' uniform which was "granted" to the higher ones of the ncos, hence the distinction. For all practical matters, there are simply two classes of ncos and the higher one is called with, the lesser without portepee. Due to Auftragstaktik and the fact that the Reichswehr during the Weimar Republic could only have so and so many officers, ncos with portepee often stand in for where other armies use officers, though.--2001:A61:260D:6E01:3824:5023:620E:5FF5 (talk) 12:26, 9 March 2018 (UTC)

Waffen SS
Seeing this term translated as "Armed SS" has always troubled me a little, as the SS had been armed all along. I believe the understanding of the word Waffen here was more in line with the sense of Luftwaffe, which means "Air Weapon" or "Air Force." It referred to the SS as a weapon of war. Any native German speakers here with some military background? Rumiton (talk) 13:12, 15 May 2010 (UTC)


 * It's often difficult to map words in different languages one-on-one. The closest translation of Waffe is indeed "arm," which has both the connotation of arms, armed, army, and of "branch." Waffenfarbe roughly means "branch-color," the identifying hue for the various branches of service. The LW could well be termed the "Air Arm," cognate with the FAA. On the other hand, the Heer's "Waffen" branch was the Ordnance, much closer to the cognate "weapon."
 * "as the SS had been armed all along." Not really. The SS had been "armed" with pistols and truncheons, until  the establishment of the Leibstandarte and then the other military-equipped units which were eventually amalgamated into the Waffen-SS.--Solicitr (talk) 17:20, 28 November 2010 (UTC)
 * OK, I can see that. In English the Air Force has been called the Air Arm (eg the Fleet Air Arm); similarly the RN the Naval Arm. This is the SS Arm (of the Services), a slightly different cognate. Does that sound acceptable? Rumiton (talk) 12:05, 29 November 2010 (UTC)
 * Well, no, that's not what I was trying to get across at all- especially since the Waffen-SS was absolutely, positively not a branch of the Armed Forces (Wehrmacht). I was simply pointing out that direct translations, even of cognates, doesn't always work (for example, we use "engineers" to translate both Ingenieure and Pioniere; "pioneers" in that sense is found archaically but is misleading today). Waffe is cognate with "weapon," but also means a "branch" with weapons, not unlike English "arm"; hence Luftwaffe, and for that matter the more comfortable "Armed-SS" as opposed to the more cognate "Weapon-SS."--Solicitr (talk) 19:17, 29 November 2010 (UTC)
 * As you know, the generally accepted English term used is "Armed-SS", even if it not the best translation or only one. Kierzek (talk) 20:26, 29 November 2010 (UTC)

Aus der Traum
Asking for help from native German speakers again. We have this phrase translated as "the dream is over." To me it reads a little more imperatively. I would think something like, "Stop dreaming!" or "Wake up!" Comments? Rumiton (talk) 03:14, 29 October 2013 (UTC)

External links modified
Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just modified 2 external links on Glossary of German military terms. Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. I made the following changes:
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20160804005136/http://www.deutscheluftwaffe.de/archiv/Dokumente/ABC/h/Heinkel/He%20162/Baubeschreibung.pdf to http://www.deutscheluftwaffe.de/archiv/Dokumente/ABC/h/Heinkel/He%20162/Baubeschreibung.pdf
 * Added archive https://archive.is/20080308191004/http://www.afrikakorps.org/germanabreviations.htm to http://www.afrikakorps.org/germanabreviations.htm

When you have finished reviewing my changes, you may follow the instructions on the template below to fix any issues with the URLs.

Cheers.— InternetArchiveBot  (Report bug) 00:53, 20 October 2017 (UTC)

Meldekopf
I think it is a Luftwaffe listening station scope_creep (talk) 13:55, 6 December 2017 (UTC)

"sichern und laden" – "lock and load".
Isn't that an American term translated into German? If you want to load a Mauser rifle it cannot be locked, because then you can't pull back the bolt. Creuzbourg (talk) 23:42, 23 March 2023 (UTC)