Christin-Désirée Rudolph: "My Knights"

Her books are the best business cards for the German Bundeswehr, and anyone who wants to learn about German military units is well advised to read them. SPARTANAT wanted to know who the woman behind the successful books is and interviewed military journalist Christin-Désirée Rudolph.

SPARTANAT: A woman writes the best books about the Bundeswehr. How did this come about?

Christin-Désirée Rudolph: Thank you for the compliment. The foundation was laid in my teenage years. I read the book "Désirée" by Annemarie Selinko. Initially, I was captivated by the love story of a silk merchant's daughter with a soldier named Napoleone, but more and more I was drawn into the inexhaustible topic of the culture of conflict on a grand scale: War. The philosophy of war fascinated me, as well as its creators and saviors - the soldiers. Ultimately, the modern knights. I had been writing since my youth and I felt that eventually I would find them and bring them to life through writing. A serious illness that left me using crutches for a long time was the starting point for professional writing. Later, I did an internship with Y-Magazin and with my first book "Eyes on Target," a bestseller. I am the only woman in Germany who writes these types of books, so I had to write at least as well, if not better, than my male colleagues.

SPARTANAT: Were you in the Bundeswehr yourself?

Christin-Désirée Rudolph: No. In my generation, that was unthinkable. During the obligatory visit to the capital city in the final class, I even fell asleep during a presentation by a Bundeswehr soldier. I only woke up later in life when I realized with the deployments abroad that "my knights" were riding off, and I wanted to follow their journey.

SPARTANAT: Women can now also join the military, but it is still rare. What is the fascination with the topic?

Christin-Désirée Rudolph: In Germany, there are actually quite a few women in the Bundeswehr, and we also have very successful women like Ulrike Flender, the fighter jet pilot, or tough structural engineers, tank drivers, etc.

Personally, I have always found it fascinating when people stand up for their beliefs and values. The armies of our alliance have set out to fight a completely new type of adversary: terrorism. This enemy is nebulous and intangible. It arises in situations where hardly anyone expects it. Often, he doesn't even wear armor, but forcefully takes control of an airplane's cockpit. It has become difficult to find him, keep him in check, and, in case of emergency, eliminate him. I am fascinated by the fact that there are people who choose the profession of soldier to fight for freedom, human rights, and democracy and I am fascinated by the technology of modern weapon systems to not submit to terror but to confront it with a stop sign.

SPARTANAT: You have been with the Reconnaissance Battalion to the Armored Troops. What is your impression of the Bundeswehr? Do you have a favorite unit?

Christin-Désirée Rudolph: The Bundeswehr is currently going through a very painful process of reorientation due to the structural reform, which is cutting and refining to model an affordable and modern army. Despite the slimming down and phase-out of various weapon systems, on my researches, I have been able to get to know at the core of this army a pool of soldiers who are top-trained, highly motivated people with excellent tactical and operational skills. People who don't make headlines. They convinced me with their iron discipline, camaraderie, and mental strength. My conclusion: The Bundeswehr has the resources to remain a strong ally, our politicians just need to have the courage to use these resources effectively in case of emergency.

I don't have a favorite unit because each troop type I have written about has its special skills, which is fascinating in itself.

SPARTANAT: What are your next projects?

Christin-Désirée Rudolph: I am writing a book about my extraordinary experiences titled: ALONE AMONG WARRIORS.

CHRISTIN-DÉSIRÉE RUDOLPH, born in 1966, has been accompanying elite and special units of the Bundeswehr as a military journalist since 2004, traveling to eight countries with them. Rudolph has studied journalism and publishes military non-fiction books for the Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart, as an author. After her bestseller "Eyes on Target" about the Reconnaissance Battalion of the Bundeswehr, her readers demanded more books of this kind. She is currently working on her seventh book about the special unit of the German combat divers. Her website is: www.christin-rudolph.de. The author is also present on Facebook.