ABSTRACT
The Federal Republic of Germany has provided considerable support for the troops of its Alliance partners in Germany. The stationing of foreign forces was first and foremost a consequence of World War II that simply had to be accepted by the German public. Important legal foundations for both troop stationing and the support of Allied forces on German territory are also gathered. The incredibly rapid pace of political change in Europe has led to a situation in which NATO, due to the difficult and time-consuming nature of consensus politics, finds itself with no ready politico-strategic conceptual frameworks for force planning. The stationing of Allied forces has, apart from their security-enhancing role, had important economic and social dimensions. The costs borne by the Federal Republic (e.g., through the use of infrastructure, or by maneuver damage) have been offset by costs borne by the Allied forces, as employers, investors, consumers, or tenants.
