How to Name a German Unit by comsubpac
A Short History of the Bundeswehr
Shortly after the end of the second world war the demand for a new (West) German army became clear, even though it was decided at the Potsdam Conference that Germany should be demilitarized. The German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer considered joining the NATO as one of the most important goals for his government and it was considered an important step to regain sovereignty.
First preparations were made when Adenauer named the former General Gerhard Graf von Schwerin his “special adviser for security questions”. In 1950 the so called “Amt Blank” was formed under Theodor Blank which would later become the ministry of defense. Strictly speaking this was illegal but the western allies tolerated and supported the step. The office was supposed to make plans to form a paramilitary police force.
The Federal Republic joined the NATO and regained nearly full sovereignty in 1955. This was the official start for forming new armed forces.
The new armed forces were supposed to have an army (Heer), a navy (Bundesmarine) and an air force (Luftwaffe) with a strength of less than 500.000 men. The FRG (Federal Republic of Germany) also assured that the armed forces would be part of a European defense system and that no chemical, biological or nuclear weapons would be developed. The United States agreed to deliver large amounts of weapons since Germany did not have any capability to build weapons.
The Bundeswehr was officially founded on the 12th of November, 1955 – the 200th birthday of the prussian general and military reformer Gerhard von Scharnhorst.
The nucleus of the new armed forces was the paramilitary Bundesgrenzschutz (Federal Border Guard). Nearly all the officers and personnel that joined the new army were former members of the Bundesgrenzschutz. The naval part part of the BGS was completely integrated into the Bundeswehr.
Finding a name was difficult: Wehrmacht was of course unusable so it was decided to use the name Bundeswehr since it was similar to the Reichswehr of the first German Republic. The proposal was made by the former General Hasso von Manteufel.
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