The Society of the Federal Republic of Germany

(Last update Mai 2009)

The changing role assigned to the German Bundeswehr calls for concomitant transformations in the structure of the armed forces and role models for the individual soldier, which in turn have impacts on the Bundeswehr’s concept of tradition. This study will begin by reviewing the issues for which military tradition has been perceived as a pertinent source of answers (chapter one). The second chapter argues that discussion about traditions must address shifts in concepts of war and military operations, new definitions of the functions to be fulfilled by the military, and transformations of the "citizen in uniform" model and scrutinizes these aspects. Starting point of the third chapter is the guideline "Tradition is what has been called into question": this section of the study examines the implicit traditionalism of military organizations and suggests possible conclusions for "cultivating traditions".