Original: Although the SS was autonomous and existed in parallel to the Wehrmacht , the Waffen-SS field units were placed under the operational control of the Supreme High Command of the Armed Forces ( Oberkommando der Wehrmacht , OKW ) or the Supreme High Command of the Army ( Oberkommando des Heeres , OKH ) .
Simplified: East Germanys armed forces , formally established in 1956 , were known as the National Peoples Army ( Nationale Volksarmee ) .