ABSTRACT
The demise of the German Democratic Republic in October 1990 brought the end of the Nationale Volksarmee, the second leading army of the Warsaw Pact alongside the Soviets. The reality of events in 1990 and after proved to be quite different and suggested how little anxious observers really understood the military institutions and defense policy of the Federal Republic of Germany and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. This chapter describes the most vital aspect of the German military-in-unity: the transformation of the ideals of military professionalism in the midst of drastic political upheaval. During September 1990, the German ministry of defense announced the role of the Bundeswehr in unity. From the early 1950s, each German army had claimed for itself enlightened principles of command, obedience, discipline, and morale. Anti-communist and communist German soldiers alike asserted endlessly after 1950 that only one side could rightfully claim the wholesome German martial past.
