In order to reveal the developments of the concepts of military masculinity, this dissertation proceeds chronologically. Based on my analysis of primary and secondary sources, I have identified specific periods during which concepts of military masculinity were most intensively negotiated. Functioning as a prelude, the first part—“A Postwar Project: The Demilitarization of Occupied West Germany, 1945–1948”—analyzes the emergence of new masculine ideals at the end of World War II. Following a discussion of Allied demilitarization and re-education procedures, it shows how Germans living mainly in the Western occupation zones reevaluated the relation between military, civil society, and masculinity. While arguing that many Germans bid farewell to the military and military success as symbols of national prowess, on the one hand, and to soldierly qualities as the epitome of manliness, on the other, this part also emphasizes that the belief that military service would have positive effects on young men's character did prevail in large segments of society.64 These competing ideas were important for the subsequent negotiations.
The second part “Defining the New Soldier: Debates about Military Masculinity before the Rearmament of the FRG, 1949–1954” analyzes the masculine concepts that emerged during the negotiations surrounding the European Defense Community (EDC). While participating in
64
See, Jörg Echternkamp, “Arbeit am Mythos: Soldatengenerationen der Wehrmacht im Urteil der west- und ostdeutschen Nachkriegsgesellschaft,” in Nachkrieg in Deutschland, ed. Klaus Naumann (Hamburg: Hamburger Edition, 2001), 421–443
the international negotiations, members of the Amt Blank and government officials assembled to carve out the rules and regulations that would define not only the European, but also the West German soldier.65 This process first and foremost resulted in the gendered definition of military service. Agreeing that only men, not women could be compelled to serve, they set out to define the behavioral and mental traits of the future soldiers. Influenced by vociferous anti-rearmament protests that swept the Federal Republic in the early 1950s, the soldierly image that emerged during this period was a hybrid. Seeking to overcome the legacy of the Nazi regime and World War II, contemporaries were eager to create a military that would fit the new democratic and peaceful ideals of the Federal Republic. However, since the new armed forces were supposed to also function as a bulwark against the Communist East, negotiations seesawed between the thoroughly trained soldiers who would bravely defend West Germany and Europe, on the one hand, and as a restrained Bürger in Uniform, who was a loving family man, on the other.
The subsequent third part “Expectations and Experience: The Discourse on Soldier’s Social and Moral Standards during the Formation Period of the Bundeswehr, 1955–1964” focuses on the debates that erupted after the resolution to rearm West Germany in the context of NATO. Following the decision to establish the Bundeswehr as national armed forces and implement a draft, tens of thousands of young men were called up for service. This development triggered new debates about the social ramifications of military life. Although many West Germans maintained that the military could inculcate men with socially acceptable, domestic qualities, a parallel discourse developed, which questioned the social value of military life and, instead, cautioned that a barracked all-male institution had the potential to negatively influence the sexual and social behavior of young men. Eager to establish and maintain good relations
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between civil society and the military, this part argues that government officials, parliamentarians of all primary parties, and military experts stressed that the soldiers had to embrace the ideal of monogamous Christian family breadwinner.
As the fourth part “Between Left-Wing Rejection and Right-Wing Critique: The Changing Image of the Bundeswehrsoldat, 1964–1976” shows, the efforts to guide the soldiers’ sexual and social behavior were significant for the disputes that erupted in the mid-1960s. During this period, the Federal Republic witnessed almost a “counter revolution” of conservative Bundeswehr generals who argued that the military and West German society as a whole had to embrace to the image of men as born defenders and the soldier as a hardened fighter.66 These calls for a new soldierly ideal collided, however, with arguments of the extra-parliamentary protestors who were unsettled by the establishment of Chancellor Kiesinger’s Grand Coalition in 1966. Fearing that the Federal Republic was turning into an authoritarian, fascist state, the majority of activists cautioned that the Bundeswehr produced violent male behavior, which would eventually endangered the peace and stability of West Germany. This multifold criticism fundamentally influenced parliamentary politics. Above all, this part shows, Willy Brandt’s Social-Liberal Coalition instated a series of measures that represented a direct response to different lines of argument. As a result, the West German soldier of the 1970s was posited as a critical and reflective thinker who served in the Bundeswehr to protect the peace and stability of West Germany and Western Europe.
The fifth and final part, “Challenged Military Manliness: The Quest for a New Man in Uniform, 1977–1989” focuses in particular on the late 1970s to early/mid-1980s.67 During this
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Abenheim, Reforging.
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time, the masculine image of West German soldier came under fire yet again; this time a growing number of leftist intellectuals, peace activists, and women’s groups who complained that the Bundeswehr was a destructive force that not only endangered West Germany’s peace and stability, but that also produced violent notions of masculinity. This understanding came to the fore, first, following the proposal by government officials in 1978 to recruit women as soldiers. Second, the question of whether gay men should be allowed to serve in the Bundeswehr instigated more debates. In particular, the discharge of General Günter Kießling, the Commander of NATO land forces and deputy to the Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, due to allegations that he was gay caused a public outcry.68 At a time when peace activists protested NATO’s double track decision, Kießling’s discharge was seen as the result of a homophobic and hyper-masculine military culture that had to be changed.
By closely examining these periods, this dissertation sheds light on the emergence and development of concepts of military masculinity during the four decades following the end of World War II. Slightly revising Wolf Graf von Baudissin’s 1955 dictum, the following analysis shows that the West German soldier was certainly a man of his times, because the function and image of the Bundeswehr were discussed at the intersection of the military, parliamentary politics, and civil society. As such, the concepts of military masculinity that contemporaries formulated and that were reflected in parliamentary politics as well as in military guidelines and regulations, are not solely the product of governmental demands and military necessities. They were also formed by the claims formulated in civil society by individuals and groups. Because of
one they did not. However, the intensity with which contemporaries debated masculine concepts certainly peaked in the early/mid-1980s and would not be trumped until the unification of the two Germanys.
68
Thomas Ramge, Die großen Polit-Skandale: Eine andere Geschichte der Bundesrepublik (Frankfurt: Campus, 2003), 180–197.
these interactions and influences, the image of the Bundeswehr and the West German soldiers and officers changed over time; preventing military ideals and customs from becoming decisive for civil society.