Sovereign or dependent? In addition to a concise chronological overview that places the essential stages of East German military history within the context of the overall history of the era, there is a systematic examination of selected themes, such as how the high militarization affected the economy and society of the SED state. The guiding question is to what extent the GDR, as it portrayed itself, was a sovereign state that ensured its own security or whether it was dependent on the Soviet security guarantee.