Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht victory parade in Rheinstrasse after the fall of France in June 1940
Magazine " Die Wehrmacht " with the cover shot contest , followed by the best Wehrmacht officers . Here the gun used was Zimmerschützen , specifically for the purpose beginian gun that has been used for many years
Wehrmacht was the name of the armed forces of Nazi - Germany since 1935 until 1945 . During World War II , the Wehrmacht consisted of the Heer ( Army ) , Kriegsmarine ( Navy ) , Luftwaffe ( air force ) and the troops of the Waffen -SS ( " Armed SS " ) , as well as units plus the Sturmabteilung ( SA ) .
After Nazi Germany surrendered unconditionally on May 7, 1945 , Germany has banned the armed forces . The division of Germany during the Cold War triggered the formation of the military forces in the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany ) and the German Democratic Republic ( East Germany ) .
West German military formed on May 5, 1955 by the name Bundeswehr meaning Federal Defence Force . While East German army was formed on March 1, 1956 with the name of the National People's Army ( Nationale Volksarmee ) .
Before the rise of the NSDAP , the term Wehrmacht used in a generic sense to mention the armed forces of any nation , which functioned as a " homeland defense " .
For example , the term means the Wehrmacht Britische refers to the British armed forces . Article 47 of the Weimar Dasae Act 1919 states " Reichspräsident the highest authority of all the armed forces of the kingdom" . To characterize , Reichswehr term used to refer to the German armed forces .
In 1935 , the Reichswehr was later changed to the Wehrmacht . After World War II and under allied occupation , Wehrmacht in ubarkan . Thus , the term Wehrmacht used informally to refer to the German armed forces during the 3rd Reich and World War II .
Note : It is not appropriate to equate the Wehrmacht only with landline ( Heer ) . Vehicles used by the Wehrmacht Heer , Luftwaffe or navy with license plates WH , WL , WM .