Generaloberst

thumb|right|upright|Rudolf Stöger-Steiner von Steinstätten here as Generaloberst

A ("colonel general") was the second-highest general officer rank in the Imperial German Army, the Reichswehr and Wehrmacht, the Austro-Hungarian Common Army, the East German National People's Army, and in German amd Austrian police services. The rank was equal to a four-star full general but below a Generalfeldmarschall. The rank was equivalent to a Generaladmiral in the Kriegsmarine until 1945 or to a Flottenadmiral in the Volksmarine until 1990. It was the highest ordinary military rank and the highest military rank awarded in peacetime; the higher rank of general field marshal was awarded only in wartime by the head of state. In general, a Generaloberst had the same privileges as a general field marshal.