Wehrmacht Generals, West German Society, and the Debate on Rearmament, 1949-1959

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Alaric Searle

ISBN: 0-275-97968-7

ISBN-13: 978-0-275-97968-3

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344 pages

Praeger Publishers

Publication: 12/30/2003

List Price: $99.95 (UK Sterling Price: £68.95)

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Media Type: Hardcover

Trim Size: 6 1/8 x 9 1/4

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Description: Examining the fate of former German generals after the Second World War, this is one of the first books in English to utilize the extensive archival material now available on the West German rearmament debate. Focus is given to the role these generals played in military policy-making, in planning for democratic armed forces, and in public discussions on coming to terms with the National Socialist past. The former generals were active in behind-the-scenes military planning and debates on military reform, but they also engaged in public efforts to influence politics as spokesmen of veterans' organizations. Alaric Searle uncovers proof that some former generals tried to bypass parliamentary control of the Federal armed forces, while others intervened to thwart those efforts. Through their actions, these generals also became symbols and metaphors for the National Socialist past.

At an early stage, the generals were involved in the media discussions on rearmament. From the mid-1950s onwards, they increasingly became the objects of critical press attention, most notably in a number of trials that centered on wartime execution orders. These trials immediately assumed relevance for the public debate on military reform and rearmament. In providing an account of the political and military activities of the Wehrmacht General Officer Corps after World War II, this work also contributes to the broader debate on the role of elites in West German society after 1945.

Table of Contents:

Tables
Preface
Abbreviations
A Note on Wehrmacht Generals' Ranks
Introduction
Prologue: Wehrmacht Generals in Defeat, 1945-49
The Generals Regroup: The Attempts to Establish a Consensus, 1950/51
The Institutional Response: The Blank Office, the Gehlen Organization, and the Control Group, 1951-56
The Pressure Group Response: Generals, Veterans' Associations, and Rearmament, 1951-56
Rearmament, Generals, and Society: The Press, Politics, and Public Opinion, 1949-59
Rearmament, the Past, and the Law: Wehrmacht Generals on Trial, 1951-59
Conclusion
Selected Bibliography
Index

About the Author: ALARIC SEARLE teaches modern and contemporary history at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet, Munich, where he is currently working on a project on military intellectual history in the 19th and 20th centuries. He recently co-edited An Anglo-German Dialogue: The Munich Lectures on the History of International Relations (2000), and authored the Clausewitz Forum Occasional Paper 1/2000, Herbert Rosinski (1903-1962) und seine Bedeutung fuer die Clausewitz-Forschung (2000). His articles and reviews have appeared in journals such as Canadian Journal of History, Intelligence and National Security, International History Review, War in History and Journal of Slavic Military Studies.

LCC Class: 355


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