Requiem for an Army : The Demise of the East German Military
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Overview
Building on a strong foundation of primary sources, this unique study traces the role of East Germany's military (NVA) in the country's unification with West Germany. Utilizing interviews with and questionnaires from NVA officers, Herspring unravels the puzzle of the NVA's decision against using force to save the political system it was sworn to serve. Most Western models suggest that in the face of open threats to the military's core interests, the army would have fought to keep the status quo. Yet the military actually facilitated the introduction of a new democratic polity and in the process dug its own grave. The author also examines the integration of a select minority of officers and NCOs into the Bundeswehr. Trained under a Russian-inspired system that minimized the role of the individual, this group was suddenly exposed to the radically different "Innere Fuehrung" concept that lies at the heart of the Bundeswehr's ethos. His findings will be invaluable for all military-political specialists and for anyone interested in the process of transition from authoritarian/totalitarian to democratic systems.
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Details
- ISBN-13: 9780847687183
- ISBN-10: 084768718X
- Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
- Publish Date: October 1998
- Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.24 x 0.85 inches
- Shipping Weight: 1.15 pounds
- Page Count: 288
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