Creator Anna Winger said that all of the episode titles are drawn from a NATO exercise mounted from 1983.
The first German television program broadcast on American television in the original German.
General Arnold Jackson is a fictional character, but wears the shoulder sleeve insignia of the 56th Field Artillery Brigade, the U.S. Army unit that fielded 108 Pershing 1a missiles and was about to transition to the Pershing II. The real commander of the 56th Field Artillery in 1983 was Brig. Gen. William Earl Sweet.
The show was created by the husband and wife team of American novelist Anna Winger and German TV producer Jörg Winger, who pitched it as a trilogy. Anna Winger said that they did extensive research with experts who were from both sides of Germany. Jonas Nay, who played Martin, said he received technical assistance from military adviser/NATO expert Steffen Meyer.
Deutschland 83 (2015) has received a number of international and domestic awards including an International Emmy Award, a Peabody Award, Grimme Prize, The Golden Nymph, a Metropolis Award, two C21 Drama Awards, a Golden Camera, the "Special Jury Award" of the Roma Fiction Fest, and Series Mania 2015 for Best World Series.