Photographs of a Soviet barracks in Mahlwinkel by a Bundeswehr soldier, 1992

In the reunified Germany of 1990, there were still hundreds of thousands of foreign soldiers from the former occupying powers. The Two-Plus-Four Treaty stipulated that Soviet troops had to withdraw from the territory of the former GDR. Almost half a million soldiers, civilian employees and family members, as well as equipment and weapons, were to leave Germany by the end of 1994. This also included around 12,000 battle tanks and armored vehicles.

During this time, the Soviet Army and the Bundeswehr grew closer and held joint conferences and excursions. In February 1992, a political education course group from the Army Officers’ School in Hanover visited the barracks of a Soviet artillery and motorized rifle regiment in Mahlwinkel in Saxony-Anhalt. One participant photographed his impressions and the captions clearly show how different the everyday life of the soldiers was: “Dormitory (100 men!)”, “85% of the KPz/SPz fully operational at all times”, “The ‘captain’ (captain) of the company (Kazakh, 1.63m tall) ‘tank size’ 1.65m max.”.

The multi-ethnic units of the Soviet armed forces had been largely isolated from the population in the GDR. Everyday life in the barracks was hard and allowed little free time and privacy. The soldiers were often stationed so far away from home that their vacation days were barely enough for a visit, their pay was low and excursions were almost impossible. Boredom and frustration also led to an increase in criminal offenses.

The already gigantic logistical task of withdrawal was made even more difficult by the simultaneous dissolution of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s. Around 60% of the stationed soldiers were Russian, while it was unclear where some of the others would return to, as more and more nations declared their independence. Nevertheless, the withdrawal was completed at the end of August 1994. The company was supported with 15 billion DM from the Federal Republic of Germany, about half of which was earmarked for the construction of housing in the USSR to accommodate the many people.