From Confrontation to Cooperation: The Takeover of the National People's (East German) Army by the Bundeswehr

by Frederick Zilian

Overview

At midnight on October 2, 1990, the West German armed forces took over the approximately 90,000 men comprising the National People's (East German) Army (NVA) and assumed control of its substantial arsenal. This study is an analysis of that unification from its beginning in July 1990 to the end of summer of 1993 when all applications for future service of former NVA officers and non-commissioned officers had been processed. Using numerous un-published sources and interviews, the author addresses the following areas: the organization used by the Bundeswehr and the political control exerted in the Takeover, the key decisions reached and the explanation of these decisions, the relationship of the Takeover to the new Army Structure 5 being implemented at the time, and the effect of the Takeover on the Bundeswehr's operational readiness, especially its ability to perform its new tasks identified in the spring 1991.

The first scholarly study of the Takeover, this study focuses on 11 key decisions, made not only for military reasons, but also for political, economic, social, and psychological purposes. Overall, the Takeover was a success in light of the numerous goals it achieved while avoiding the outbreak of violence. The Bundeswehr achieved this success mainly because it relied on liberal democratic principles, including those comprising the unique German concept of Innere Duhrung (civic education and moral leadership). This book also provides an overall evaluation of the Takeover and contributes to theory-building on army amalgamations.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780275965464
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	09/30/1999
Series:	Praeger Studies in Diplomacy and Strategic Thought
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 0.62(d)

About the Author

FREDERICK ZILIAN, JR. is the chair of the History Department at Portsmouth Abbey School in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, where he teaches German, European History, and U.S. History. A 1970 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy, the author served in various command, staff, and teaching positions throughout a 21-year Army career as an infantry officer including tours in Germany, Korea, at the Pentagon, and teaching assignments at both the U.S. Military Academy (Department of Social Sciences) and the Naval War College (Strategy Department).

Table of Contents

Foreword by Lieutenant General Werner von Scheven (Retired)
Preface
Abbreviations
Introduction
Amalgamation Case Studies and Theory
The Political Setting
The Military Setting
Organization and Political Control
Management and Force Structure Decisions
Personnel Decisions
Training and Education Decisions
Equipment and Facilities Decisions
The Takeover and the "New Tasks" of the Bundeswehr
Conclusion
Appendix A: Key Figures in the Takeover
Appendix B: Army Structure 5
Appendix C: Peacetime Organization of the German Army in 1994
Selected Bibliography
Index

Editorial Reviews

Expanding on his eyewitness dissertation study<-->as a US liaison officer to the German Army<-->of the unification of the East and West German armies following the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, Zilian (history, German, Portsmouth Abby School, Rhode Island), details the command structures of the armies and new tasks of the , The Federal Armed Forces of Germany. Includes information and charts on key figures in the takeover, army structures, and peacetime organization of the German Army as of 1994. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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