Recent controversies about Ronald Reagan's visit to the Bitburg
military cemetery and revelations about Kurt Waldheim's past
underscored the political problems inherent in Germany's military
traditions and in the relationship of the army to National
Socialism. The Allied victors disbanded the German armed forces
after World War II, only to press for the arming of the Federal
Republic of Germany under the altered political conditions of the
cold war. This book is the first comprehensive narrative and
analysis of the efforts of German military professionals to
discover for their new army an acceptable body of tradition in the
proud, ambiguous, and at times criminal history of the German
soldier. The author shows that, despite a complex of political
obstacles, the founders of the Bundeswehr generally succeeded in
persuading the international community and Germany itself that the
army of the 1950s and 1960s would not revive the militarism of the
past. However, the rapidity of the military buildup was a major
drawback to their reform ideas. Certain officers and NCOs in the
Bundeswehr undercut changes made by the leadership, and the debate
on tradition building became a major political issue in the Federal
Republic and NATO. Originally published in 1989. The Princeton
Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again
make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished
backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the
original texts of these important books while presenting them in
durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton
Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly
heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton
University Press since its founding in 1905.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!