They share the common characteristic of being greatly simplified as to adapt with the severe lack of resources and industrial capacity in Germany during the final stages of the war.

As a last-ditch measure in the nearly lost war, on 18 October 1944 the Deutscher Volkssturm was mobilized – a German national militia.

To arm them under conditions of depleted manpower and limited available production capacities the Primitiv-Waffen-Programm ("primitive weapons program") was initiated.

The stock is crudely made from wood, and non-adjustable iron sights are provided for close-range shooting only.

[4] The Gustloff Volkssturmgewehr was designed by Karl Barnitzke of the Gustloff-Werke for the Primitiv-Waffen-Programm ("primitive weapons program") in 1944 and was intended to be used by the Volkssturm.

Production of the Gustloff Volkssturmgewehr occurred from January 1945 till the end of the war; roughly 10,000 were made.

[5] The weapon employed the same 7.92×33mm Kurz intermediate cartridge as the earlier StG 44 assault rifle and also used the same detachable 30-round box magazine.

The Gustloff Volkssturmgewehr uses a gas-delayed blowback action based on the Barnitzke system, whereby gas bled from the barrel near the chamber creates resistance to the rearward impulse of the operating parts, which ceases when the projectile leaves the muzzle, allowing the operating parts to be forced rearward by the residual pressure of the cartridge case.

[7] Testing of a captured Gustloff Volkssturmgewehr at a Soviet GAU shooting range showed that it was rather inaccurate, with 50% of the shots at 100 m landing in a circle with 10.2 cm (~4") radius and with 100% of the shots at the same distance landing in a circle with a 19.8 cm (7.8") radius.

The 100 meter fixed sights of the Gustloff Volkssturmgewehr made aiming difficult at longer ranges, with the bullet dropping around 84 cm (33 inches) below line of sight at 300 meters, forcing the shooter to aim higher on the target.