Reforging the Iron Cross

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REFORGING THE IRON CROSS
The Search for Tradition in the West German Armed Forces
DONALD ABENHEIM
With a Foreword by Gordon A. Craig
"This study is as important for military historians as for readers who are concerned with the problem of German idendty. It is not just one of the very few studies on the Bundeswehr in English—and an exceptionally well-informed one at that. It is also one of the most thorough accounts of post-war Germany's efforts to come to terms with the German past in any field. Since this is a hody debated issue today, this study is of general significance and relevant for all those who want to form an opinion about the changing polidcal atmosphere in Germany." —Michael Geyer, University of Chicago
Recent controversies about Ronald Reagan's visit to... Tovább

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REFORGING THE IRON CROSS
The Search for Tradition in the West German Armed Forces
DONALD ABENHEIM
With a Foreword by Gordon A. Craig
"This study is as important for military historians as for readers who are concerned with the problem of German idendty. It is not just one of the very few studies on the Bundeswehr in English—and an exceptionally well-informed one at that. It is also one of the most thorough accounts of post-war Germany's efforts to come to terms with the German past in any field. Since this is a hody debated issue today, this study is of general significance and relevant for all those who want to form an opinion about the changing polidcal atmosphere in Germany." —Michael Geyer, University of Chicago
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.

(continued from front flap)
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.
"Donald Abenheim's book is a virtually unique treatment of an important issue, one of perennial interest among academics and attentive publics on both sides of the Atlantic. The author presents a wealth of new material, much of it never before accessible to non-German readers. His scholarship is commendable . . The pace and liveliness of the book are quite remarkable." —Catherine M. Kelleher, University of Maryland
Donald Abenheim is Assistant Professor of National Security Affairs, Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California.


From the Foreword by Gordon A. Craig
"The baleful consequences [of arming the Federal Republic of Germany] predicted in 1954 have not been realized, largely because parliament and the defense ministry, working in close collaboration, established at the outset rules for the selection of officers and for the civic education of all ranks that were based on the experiences of the past and designed to avoid its mistakes. Although their work in the years that followed was accompanied by continued public suspicion and a not inconsiderable amount of professional resistance, they succeeded in making their ideal of an army of citizens in uniform a reality, without in any way impairing its military skills. The trials and tribulations that they encountered along the way, Donald Abenheim has described with admirable detail and insight in the pages that follow." Vissza