"The Volkssturmgewehr ("People's Army Rifle") is the name of several rifle designs developed by Nazi Germany during the last months of World War II. They share the common characteristic of being greatly simplified as an attempt to cope with severe lack of resources and industrial capacity in Germany during the final period of the war.

The weapon's name is an ambiguous portmanteau: in German Gewehr means "rifle", whereas Volkssturm means "People's Army". The term "Volkssturmgewehr" can therefore be translated either as "People's Army Rifle" or "Volkssturm Rifle"."