70 years of the Bundeswehr: an overview of the founding history!

70 years of the Bundeswehr: an overview of the founding history!

Today, November 12, 2025, we look back at the beginnings of the Bundeswehr, which began on the same date in 1955 with the appointment of 101 volunteers as soldiers in the Ermekeil barracks in Bonn. At the time, Federal Defense Minister Theodor Blank gave a moving speech in which he called for reflection on the past and gave the new army a face, even though the uniformed soldiers were dressed in dark suits due to late deliveries. So much for the elegance of the first days of the Bundeswehr. President Konrad Adenauer was largely responsible for the creation of the armed forces. He pushed for the rapid establishment of new military structures while military legislation was still being hotly debated in the Bundestag. He quickly drew up a volunteer law so that he could actually report on the first soldiers without waiting for a change in the constitution.

Fears about German rearmament increased after Stalin's death and in the context of growing Soviet ambitions for German unity. Adenauer, who visited several companies of the established Bundeswehr in January 1956, emphasized that the new army should not be called the “Wehrmacht”. Nevertheless, the demand to continue with military traditions was a mutual one. Blank quoted military thinker Gerhard von Scharnhorst in his speech to underline the tradition of the new army.

The challenge of the early Bundeswehr

The suitability of the officers, such as Hans Speidel and Adolf Heusinger, both of whom had military backgrounds, was a contentious issue. To ensure that no shadows of the past fell on the new force, a personnel evaluation committee carefully examined officers' applications. Of the 600 applications examined, around 100 were rejected. This thorough examination was necessary in order to draw a clear line with the self-image of the “citizen in uniform” in relation to the values ​​of the Basic Law.

Another element was the control of the Bundeswehr. Adenauer wanted an army under government control, while the Social Democrats and parts of the Union demanded greater parliamentary oversight. Ultimately, the duty of control was anchored in the Basic Law, which gave the Bundestag's Defense Committee extensive rights. The arguments for rearmament were also boosted by North Korea's attack on South Korea and the increasing demands of NATO, which called for a troop strength of 500,000 men.

A dispute about militarization

However, the question of rearmament was not without controversy. Resistance came primarily from the SPD and the Protestant Church, who expressed concerns about the militarization of society. Despite these concerns, the era of conscription began on April 1, 1957, when the first conscripts arrived in the barracks to supplement the Bundeswehr's personnel. This decision was not even suspected of being based on anything less than extensive planning and strategy for Germany's security.

The basis of the Bundeswehr was discussed in various ways not only publicly, but also internally. Former Wehrmacht officers worked on the conceptual foundations and shaped the Bundeswehr's first command staff. Documents from the Federal Archives show how subtle the planning was that framed Germany's defense policy. After the Second World War, the new Bundeswehr was not supposed to continue with the tradition of the Wehrmacht, but rather fit completely into the newly emerging democratic order.

This shows that the Bundeswehr's first steps were a complex interplay of political, social and security policy considerations. The values ​​of the Basic Law, which came into force on May 23, 1949 and will celebrate its 75th anniversary in 2024, formed the basis for the identity of the new armed forces. The eternity clause protects essential democratic principles that should also shape the Bundeswehr, which is still important today.