This is a list of words, terms, concepts, and slogans that were used by the German military during World War II. Some have also been used in other times, and some are still in use today. Ranks and translations of the nicknames German's gave their vehicles during the war are included. Also included are some general terms from the German language found frequently in military jargon. Some terms are from the general German cultural background, others are given to show a change that was made before or after the Nazi era. Some factories that were the primary producers of military equipment, especially tanks, are also given.
1 Glossary
1.1 A
abgeschossen -- shot down; destroyed
Abschnitt -- sector, district
Abteilung (Abt.) -- detachment, batallion
Abwehr -- defense; however, this term was also a name for the counter-espionage service of the high command, headed by Admiral Canaris.
Abzeichen -- insignia; badge of rank, appointment or distinction
Aggregat-4 (A4) -- earlier name for the German V2 rocket.
Allgemeine-SS -- general body of the Schutzstaffel consisting of full-time, part-time, and honorary members.
Amt -- office, main office branch
Amt Mil -- German Army intelligence organization which succeeded the Abwehr.
Angriff -- attack
" Arbeit macht frei" -- Work makes you free.; notorious slogan seen in some concentration camps.
Armeekorps -- infantry corps
Armee-Nachrichten-Führer -- Army Signals Officer, served on the staff HQ of an Armee.
Armee-Pionier-Führer -- Army Engineer Officer, served on the staff HQ of an Armee.
Armee-Sanitäts-Abteilung -- Army medical unit
Attentat - assassination attempt
Aus der Traum -- lit. The dream is over; a slogan painted by German soldiers near the end of the war expressing the surreality of their situation.
Aufklärung -- reconnaissance
Aufklärungs-Abteilung -- reconnaissance unit or batallion, also used to designate certain battalion-sized units.
Ausführung (Ausf.) -- version, model, variant
Auszeichnung -- accolade, distinction
1.2 B
Batterie -- battery, artillery piece
Baupionier -- army construction engineer
B-Dienst -- Beobachtungsdienst, lit observation service; German Navy crypto-analytical department.
Befehl (pl. befehle) -- order, command
Beobachtungswagen -- observation or reconnaissance vehicle
Bergepanzer -- salvage or tank-recovery vehicle
Beute-Panzer -- captured tank or armored vehicle
Blechkoller -- tin fright; in U-boats, a form of nervous tension that could be caused by depth charge attacks and resulted in violence or hysteria.
Blitzkrieg -- lightning war; fast moving battle tactics developed by German generals, most notably Erwin Rommel, Heinz Guderian, and Erich von Manstein, using massed tanks and ground-attack bombers to speedily penetrate enemy lines at points and move to their rear, causing confusion/panic among them.
Brückenleger -- bridgelayer
Brummbär -- grumbler; a children's word for bear in German. It was the nickname for a mobile artillery piece
Bundeswehr -- name adopted for the German armed forces after the fall of the Third Reich.
1.3 C
Chef des Generalstabes -- Chief of the General Staff
Concentration camp -- Any internment camp for holding "enemies of the Third Reich." The construction of concentration camps began almost immediately after Hitler came to power. There were several kinds: labor camps, prison camps and death camps.
1.4 D
Daimler Benz (DB) -- Producer of military vehicles
Deutsches Afrika Korps (DAK) -- German troops send to North AfricaNorth Africa is the region of the continent of Africa north of the Sahara desert, comprising the Maghreb, including Libya and Egypt, and also by some definitions the Sudan. North Africa is vastly more uniform ethnically than anywhere in Africa south of th under the command of Erwin Rommel to prevent the loss of LibyaThis article is about Libya, the country in North Africa. For the mythical character of the same name see: Libya (mythology . The Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya or Libya ( Arabic: ) is a country in North Africa, bordering the Mediterranea by the ItaliansThe Italian Republic or Italy ( Italian: Italia is a country in the south of Europe, consisting mainly of a boot-shaped peninsula together with two large islands in the Mediterranean Sea: Sicily and Sardinia. To the north, where it borders France, Switzer.
Death Marches -- At the end of the war when it became obvious that the German army was trapped between the Soviets to the east and the advancing Allied troops from the west, the Nazis, in an attempt to prevent the liberation of camp inmates, forced them to march westward. Thousands died in these marches.
Drahtverhau -- barbed-wire entanglement. Slang term used by German soldiers during World Wars I and II for a military-issue mixture of dried vegetables.
Eagle's Nest -- name given to Hitler's mountain-top home at BerchtesgadenBerchtesgaden is a German municipality in the Bavarian Alps with a population of around 9,000. It is located in the district of Berchtesgadener Land in Bavaria, close to the border with Austria, 30 km south of Salzburg and 180 km south-east of Munich. in the BavariaWith an area of 70,553 km² and 11. 6 million inhabitants, the Free State of Bavaria ( German Bayern or Freistaat Bayern forms the southernmost of the 16 Bundeslander of Germany. Its capital is Munich. Geography Bavaria shares international borders with Aun Alps, also known as the Berghof.
Einheit -- detachment or unit
Einsatz -- duty, mission, encouragement
Einsatzbereit -- statement meaning, "Ready for action."
EinsatzgruppenEinsatzgruppen (a German military term meaning "task forces" or "mission groups") were semi- military groups formed in Nazi Germany before and during World War II. These death squads belonged to the S. and followed the Wehrmacht in their attacks on Poland -- battalion-sized, mobile killing units of the Security Police and SS Security Service that followed the German armies into the Soviet Union in June 1941. These units were supported by units of the uniformed German Order Police and auxiliaries of volunteers (Estonian, Latvian, Lithuanian, and Ukrainian). Their victims, primarily Jews, were executed by shooting and were buried in mass graves from which they were later exhumed and burned. At least a million Jews were killed in this manner. There were four Einsatzgruppen (A,B,C,D) which were subdivided into company-sized Einsatzkommandos.
Einsatzkommando -- Subdivisions of the Einsatzgruppen which took care of the mobilization and killing of Jews during the German invasion into the Soviet Union.
Eisenbahn -- iron way; railroad
Eisernes Kreuz - iron cross; medal awarded for valorious service
Elektra -- a German radio-navigational system
Endlösung -- the "Final Solution"; refers to the genocide planned against the Jewish people.
Ersatz -- substitute, replacement; could refer to replacement troops or any substance used in place of another, e.g., ersatz coffee, ersatz rubber, etc.
Etappendienst -- German naval intelligence department
Exerzierpanzer -- practice or exercise tank
1.6 F
Fallschirmjäger -- parachute hunter; German airborne troops, paratroopers
Feld -- Field
Feldgendarmerie -- German military or field police
Feldgrau -- field gray; term used to describe the color of the ordinary German soldier's tunic.
Feldlazarett -- field hospital
Feind -- enemy
Feindfahrt -- enemy trip; in U-boat terminology, a war cruise/patrol against the enemy.
Festung -- fortress
Flakpanzer -- anti-aircraft tank, such as the Möbelwagen.
Fliegerabwehrkanone (FLAK) -- air defense gun; the acronym has become a common term for any anti-aircraft gun.
Forschungsamt -- intelligence service of the Luftwaffe.
Freiwilligen -- volunteer
Führer -- leader, title given to exclusively to Adolf Hitler: Mein Fuhrer, Der Führer
Funke -- spark; radio. A radio operator was called a funker.
Füsilier -- an historic German term often used to refer to heavy infantry units, original referring to the type of weapon carried of the same name. During WWII used to name infantry formations with some recon abilities that replaced an infantry division's recon battalion mid-war when the Germans reduced the number of standard infantry battalions in their divisions from 9 to 6.
Generalkommando -- The headquarters of an army corps
Generalstabs des Heeres -- German Army General Staff
Geschütz -- gun
Gestapo -- Geheime Staatspolizei, lit. secret state police; the official state secret police force of Nazi Germany, coordinated with the Kripo under the SD.
Gift -- poison; giftig: poisonous/toxic
Gleichschaltung -- coordination, coordination of everything into Nazi ideals.
Gothic Line -- German defence line in Italy, north of Florence.
Grabenkrieg -- trench warfare
Granatwerfer -- grenade thrower; mortar
Grenadier -- historic German term used to refer to infantrymen, usually a specialist in the use of a particular weapon or tactic.
Gröfaz -- German soldiers' derogatory acronym for Grösster Feldherr aller Zeiten, a title publicized by Nazi propaganda to refer to Adolf Hitler during the early war years; lit. "Greatest War Lord of all Time".
Gruppe -- group
Gustav Line -- German defence line in Italy, centred on Monte Cassino.
Heimatschuss -- homeland shot; a wound not severe anough to be permanently disabling but of enough severity to require evacuation from the battlefront. The German soldier's equivalent of the American G.I.'s "million-dollar wound."
Heldenklau - stealing or snatching of heroes; slang term used to denote the practice of commandeering rear-echelon personnel for front-line service.
Hilfsfreiwillige (HIWI) - German Army volunteer forces usually made up of Soviet volunteers serving in non-combat capacities.
Höckerhindernisse -- anti-tank obstacles often refered to as "Dragon's Teeth".
Hoheitsabzeichen -- national insignia (eagle and swastika)
Hummel -- bumble-bee; nickname for a piece of mobile artillery.
1.9 I
Infanterie -- infantry
Ivan -- German slang for a Soviet soldier (similar to "Kraut", the American slang term for Germans).
1.10 J
Jabo (Jagdbomber) -- fighter-bomber
Jagdpanzer -- tank hunter; armored, mobile tank destroyer
Jagd-Kommando -- hunting commando; generally refers to a commando outfit that remained behind enemy lines when an area was overrun and would carry out sabotage and other guerrilla actions. These units did not generally operate as such and were later taken over by the SS and used as front line combat troops in 1944-45.
Jäger (Jagd-) -- hunter; used to refer to elite troops, usually noting their specialty, such as gebirgsjäger or fallshirmjäger, as well as certain tanks such as the Jagdtiger.
1.11 K
Kampf -- struggle, fight or conflict
Kampfgeist -- fighting spirit
Kampfzone -- battle zone
Kampfwunde -- battle injury
Kaserne -- barracks
Kavallerie -- cavalry
Ketten -- track, such as a tank track
Kettenkraftrad -- a tracked motorcycle; also "kettenkrad"
Kommando -- command; detachment; detail
Kompanie -- company
Konzentrationslager -- concentration camp
Knickebein -- crooked leg; German navigational system using radio beams to guide bombers.
Landsturm -- historically, infantry of non-professional soldiers, a kind of militia
Landser -- historical term for a German infantryman
Laufende Nummer -- serial number
leicht -- light, usually to refer a lighter type, such as light tank: leichter Panzer. A leichte Division was a motorized and lightly armored formation.
Reichsführer-SS -- Reich Leader of the SS, an office held by Heinrich Himmler.
Reichssicherheitshauptamt (RSHA) -- Reich Security Main Office; orgainisation created by Himmler to coordinate all German security and police departments, including the Gestapo, Kripo and SD.
Ritterkreuz -- Knight's Cross (of the Iron Cross); award for valorious service for those who had already received the Iron Cross. 7318 of these were awarded during the war.
Ritterkreuzträger - a holder of the Knight's Cross.
Rommelspargel -- Rommel's Asparagus; slanted and barb-wired poles placed in key places behind the Atlantic Wall with the intention of preventing paratroop and glider landings.
S-mine -- a common type of anti-personnel landmine.
Sanitäts -- medical unit or personnel
Sanka -- acronym for Sanitätskraftfahrtzeug, a term for German field ambulances.
Saukopf -- pig's head, used to refer to the shape of a gun mantlet or mount
Schanzzeug -- entrenching tool
Schlacht -- battle
Schlachtschiffe - battleship
schnell -- adjective meaning "fast".
Schutzstaffel (SS) -- protection squad; basically, Hitler's praetorian guard (bodyguard).
Schürzen -- skirting, armor skirting added to tanks to give additional protection.
Schütze -- rifleman
Schutzenpanzerwagen (SPW) -- armored half-track
Schutzhaft -- protective custody; a euphemism for the power to imprison people without judicial proceedings, typically in concentration camps.
Schutzhaftbefehl -- detention order; document declaring that a detained person desired to be imprisoned. Normally this signature was forced by torture.
Schwadron (pl. Schwadronen) -- squadron; Used in the cavalry, squadron was basically company-sized.
Schwarze Kapelle -- Black Orchestra; a term used to describe a group of conspirators within the German Army who plotted to overthrow Hitler and came near to assassinating him on July 20, 1944.
schwer -- adjective meaning "heavy", the word "gross" (large) can mean the same.
Schwimmpanzer -- amphibious or swimming tank
Seitengewehr -- bayonet
Selbstfahrlafette -- self-propelled
Sicherheitsdienst (SD) -- security department; the Nazi Party security service, intelligence gathering and counter-espionage wings of the RSHA headed by Reinhard Heydrich.
Sicherheitspolizei -- security police, namely the Kripo and Gestapo.
Sigrunen -- the name of the double "S" rune used by the SS.
Soldat -- soldier/enlisted man
Soldbuch -- pay book carried by every member of the German armed forces. Unit information, a record of all equipment issued,and other details were entered into this book.
Sonderbehandlung -- special treatment; a Nazi euphemism meaning torture or killing of people in detention.
Sonderkommando - special unit; an official term that applied to certain German and foreign SS units that operated in German-occupied areas. They were responsible for the liquidation of persons not desirable to the Nazi government.
Sonderkraftfahrzeug (Sd.Kfz.) -- special purpose motor vehicle, usually abbreviated and referring to an Ordinance Inventory Number.
Späher -- scout
Spähwagen -- Scout/reconnaissance vehicle
Spiess -- colloquial name for the highest-ranking non-commissioned officer in a company, usually a hauptfeldwebel. He exercized more authority than his American counterpart (Sergeant-Major).
Tiger -- nickname given to the Panzer VI Tiger I and Tiger II series of tanks, as well as the larger Jagdtiger.
Tropenhelm -- pith helmet; a wide rimmed helmet used in tropical areas, most notably by the Afrika Korps.
Tot -- dead
Totenkopf -- death's head;
Totenkopfverbände -- Death's Head units, employed earlier as guards in concentration camps, later became the first unit of the Waffen-SS, the Totenkopfdivision
Totenkopfwachsturmbanne -- Death's head Guard battalions; units of the SS that guarded concentration camps during the war
V1 Rocket -- The first of the operational German weapons of vengeance, or "Vergeltungswaffen" - the V-1 was a pilotless flying bomb powered by a pulse-jet engine and carried a 850 kg (1875 lb) high-explosive warhead. They had a range of up to 200 km. nicknamed "buzz bombs" by allied troops due to the sound they made.
V2 Rocket -- Also known as the A4, the successor to the V-1 was a long range rocket powered by liquid oxygen and alcohol, it had a 975 kg (2150 lb) high-explosive warhead and a range of 320 km.
V3 -- Long-range, smooth-bore gun designed to fire shells carrying up to a 10 kg (22 lb) high-explosive warhead at a range of 93 km. It was never very successful as most installations were destroyed by bombing before they could be used.
Vichy France -- French regime set up in the city of Vichy under Marshal Petain in collaboration with the Germans following the fall of France in 1940. It governed the southern half of France until its dissolution in 1944.
Volkssturm -- People's defense force, made up mostly of older men and boys.
1.23 W
Wabos -- in U-boat terminology, the nickname for wasserbomben, lit. depth charges.
Waffe (pl. Waffen) -- weapon, or can be an adjective meaning "armed".
Waffen-SS -- militarized combat branch of the SS.
Wagen -- vehicle, car
Wehrmacht -- German armed forced under the Third Reich consisting of three branches: the Heer (Army), the Luftwaffe (Air Force), and the Kriegsmarine (Navy).
Wehrmachtsadler -- the Wehrmacht's eagle insignia
Wehrmachtsgefolge -- Armed Forces Auxiliaries. These include those organizations that were not a part of the armed forces but which served such an important support role that they were given protection under the Geneva Convention and/or militarizied. The armed forces auxiliaries consisted in part of the Reicharbeitsdienst, NSKK, Organization Todt, and the Volksturm.
Werwolf -- German guerrilla fighters dedicated to harass Allied rear areas. Initially conceived as an adjunct to the Jagd-Kommando units and placed under the command of Otto Skorzeny, the idea was later appropriated by Joseph Goebbels to represent the general rising up of the German people to defend against foreign invasion. It was not widely effective or organized, and there were only a few known instances of involvement, mainly after the war ended and mostly in the Eastern regions.
Wespe -- wasp, a self-propelled 105mm artillery piece mounted on the PzKpfw II chassis.
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.
Wolfsschanze -- Wolf's Lair; code name for Hitler's headquarters near Rastenburg in East-Prussia.
Wuerzburg radar -- German radar went into service in 1940 and over 3,000 of all variants were built.
1.24 X
X-Gerät -- equipment for using "X" guidance on German aircraft.
1.25 Y
Y-Beam -- German aircraft navigational system which utilized a single station that radiated a directional beam plus a ranging signal which the bomber picked up and re-transmitted to enable the ground controllers to compute the range and know when to order the bombs to be dropped.
Y-Gerät -- equipment for using "Y" guidance on German aircraft.
Zeltbahn -- a triangular or square shelter quarter made of closely-woven water-repellent cotton duck. It could be used on its own as a poncho or put together with others to create shelters and tents. Also called Zeltplane.
Ziel -- target, objective
Zimmerit -- an anti-magnetic mine paste applied on the armor of German tanks to prevent magnetic mines from being attached. It was similar to cement, and was applied on the tanks with rake, giving the vehicle a rough appearance. From the summer of the 1943 to mid-1944 zimmerit became a standard characteristic on many German panzers.
Zitadelle -- citadel
Zur besonderen Verwendung (z.b.V.) -- for special use
Zyklon-B -- commercial name for the prussic acid (hydrocyanic acid) gas used in German extermination camps.
2 List of German Military Ranks
Approximate ranks relative to US ranks:
Grenadier/Schütze – Private
Obergrenadier/Oberschütze – Private
Gefreiter – Private First Class
Obergefreiter – Corporal
Unteroffizier – Sergeant
Unterfeldwebel – no equivalent
Feldwebel – Staff Sergeant
Oberfeldwebel – Technical Sergeant
Stabsfeldwebel – Master Sergeant
Hauptfeldwebel – Sergeant-Major
Leutnant – Second Lieutenant
Oberleutnant – First Lieutenant
Hauptmann – Captain
Major – Major
Oberstleutnant – Lieutenant Colonel
Oberst – Colonel
Generalmajor – Brigadier-General
General-Leutnant – Major-General
General der Infanterie, Kavallerie, etc. – Lieutenant-General
The German term for Operation is Unternehmen, lit. undertaking.
Fall Grün -- Case green; operational code name for the intended German invasion of Czechoslovakia.
Fall Rot -- Case red; operational code name for counterstrike against France in the event of an attack on Germany from the West.
Fall Weiß -- Case white; operational code name for the German invasion of Poland.
Fall Gelb -- Case yellow; operational codename for the German invasion of the Netherlands, Belgium and France.
Adlertag -- Eagle day; code name for the day of intense German air attack on Britain, 15th August 1940. Also called Adlerangriffe; Eagle attack.
Tiger -- operational codename for the German advance through the Maginot Line on the French border in June 1940. (The name was also the operational code name for a British convoy to Egypt in May 1941.)
Seelöwe -- Sea Lion; operational codename for the planned German assault on Great Britain in 1940/41. It never took place.
Taifun -- Typhoon; operational codename for the German push towards Moscow in September 1941.
Bestrafung -- operational code name for German "punishment" air attacks on Belgrade, April 1941.
Felix -- operational codename for the German plan to capture Gibraltar in 1941. It never took place.
Anton -- code name for the German occupation of Vichy France, November 1942; later known as Atilla.
Atilla -- code name for the German occupation of Vichy France, November 1942
Aufbau Ost -- Eastern buildup; operational code name for the German build-up of arms prior to the invasion of the Soviet Union.
Barbarossa -- operational code name for the German invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941. Barbarossa, or "Red Beard" was the nickname for Emperor Frederick I, who attempted to unify Germanic states in the 12th century.
Bernhard -- operational code name for German scheme to counterfeit British bank notes and put them into circulation; began in 1942.
Paukenschlag -- Drumroll or Drumbeat; operational codename of the offensive against Allied shipping in US and Caribbean waters in the first half of 1942.
Pastorius -- operational codename for a U-boat spy operation involving U-202 and U-548 setting 8 agents ashore in the USA in June 1942.
Nordlight -- Northern lights; operational codename for the German attack on Leningrad in 1942.
Wintergewitter -- Winter gale; operational codename for the unsuccessful German attempt to relieve the 6th Army at Stalingrad in December 1942.
Zitadelle -- Citadel; operational code name for the German attack on the Soviet forces near Kursk, July 1943.
Eiche -- Oak; operational code name for the plan to rescue Mussolini by the fallschirmjäger of the Luftwaffe.
Fischfang -- Fish trap; operational code name for the German counter attack on the Allied beachead at Anzio in February 1944.
Greif -- Griffin; operational code name for the dropping of English-speaking German troops wearing American uniforms behind the Allied lines in the Ardennes, prior to the Battle of the Bulge.
Herbstnebel -- Autumn mist; operational codename for the German offensive in the Ardennes, December 1944 - Also known as the Battle of the Bulge.
Reinhard -- operational code name for the entire process of building extermination camps, deportation of Jews first to ghettos, then to the concentration camps for extermination and incineration. The operation was named for SD chief Reinhard Heydrich.
Bodenplatte -- Base plate; operational code name for the German air offensive against Allied airfields in north-western Europe, January 1945.
4 References
Andrew, Stephen; Thomas, Nigel; The German Army 1939-45: Blitzkrieg. Osprey Publishing Lt., 1999.
Bidermann, Gottlob Herbert. In Deadly Combat: A German Soldier's Memoir of the Eastern Front. Kansas, University Press of Kansas. (2001): BooksEnthsiast.com.
Sajer, Guy; The Forgotten Soldier. Brassey's Inc. (2001): BooksEnthsiast.com. Excellent, personal telling of a regular German soldier's experience of the Eastern Front in WWII.
Shirer, William; The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich. Simon & Schuster. (1990): BooksEnthsiast.com.