GIs in Germany The Social, Economic, Cultural, and Political History of the American Military Presence
Book contents
- GIs in Germany
- Series page
- GIs in Germany
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Contributors
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- Part One Strategy and Politics
- Part Two Military Communities
- Part Three Tensions between Neighbors
- Part Four The German Armed Forces and the American Model
- 10 The Godfathers ofInnere Führung?
- 11 FromBefehlsausgabeto “Briefing”
- Part Five The 1970s and 1980s
- Appendix: Population Statistics for U.S. Military in Germany, 1945–2000
- Select Bibliography
- Index
10 - The Godfathers ofInnere Führung?
The American Military Model and the Creation of the Bundeswehr
from Part Four - The German Armed Forces and the American Model
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 October 2013
Book contents
- GIs in Germany
- Series page
- GIs in Germany
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Contributors
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- Part One Strategy and Politics
- Part Two Military Communities
- Part Three Tensions between Neighbors
- Part Four The German Armed Forces and the American Model
- 10 The Godfathers ofInnere Führung?
- 11 FromBefehlsausgabeto “Briefing”
- Part Five The 1970s and 1980s
- Appendix: Population Statistics for U.S. Military in Germany, 1945–2000
- Select Bibliography
- Index
Summary
In a preliminary assessment drafted in early 1954, Wolf Graf Baudissin, the head of the department within the Amt Blank responsible for developing the concept of Innere Führung noted that the Germans were faced with the difficult choice between "becoming Europeanized" or pursuing "reform". The failure of the European Defense Community (EDC) put an end to these worries. The discussions between the Americans and West Germans on the concept of Innere Führung in the years leading up to the creation of the Bundeswehr make clear the complexity of trying to transfer the practices of the American "army within a democracy". The West Germans were concerned about the broad issues of the social integration and legitimation of the armed forces subsumed within the concept of Innere Führung. The Americans took a more narrow approach and viewed the question of civil-military relations as primarily a constitutional issue.
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- GIs in GermanyThe Social, Economic, Cultural, and Political History of the American Military Presence, pp. 237 - 251Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2013