The German Anti-Army

The Bundeswehr has already been mentioned in the Bible: “... and they wrapped themselves in strange garments and wandered aimlessly...” – The joke about the wrong Bible quote still holds true, probably because it contains a nugget of truth. This is all related to history. Sönke Neitzel, as a historian, knows it. And he has summarized it for the C.H. Beck publishing house in its series "Wissen" in “The Bundeswehr”, in a concise format of just over 100 pages. This makes it super readable. And Neitzel writes concisely and does not sugarcoat. Thus, a small book has emerged that truly contributes much to understanding the Bundeswehr. 

Actually, it is somewhat of an anti-army. This has to do with German history and the preceding guilt. What is deemed “worthy of tradition” is always a matter of dispute, while it is clear that the past cannot be it. On the other hand: the Bundeswehr was founded by former Wehrmacht soldiers. Where else could the people have come from, 10 years after the war? Since its founding, there has always been a search for identity: it took 20 years to reach the top of NATO, then came the era of deployment armies abroad, then Europe believed that history was over – and ultimately, the Bundeswehr was always what remained of itself. The “turn of the times” has shown that this is not very much – and that a ready-to-deploy Bundeswehr is needed. Sönke Neitzel's book is the right one for this moment: you should read it, discuss it, and argue about it. Clear SPARTANAT recommendation. 

“The Bundeswehr. From Rearmament to the Zeitenwende” by Sönke Neitzel, Munich 2025, paperback, 128 pages, Euro 12.40 – AVAILABLE HERE in our SPARTANAT Shop. 

The BUND patch – is available HERE, DEU Camo patch – HERE