Requiem for an Army

Rating:
Summary: Essential!
Review: Anyone interested in the intenal works of the East German Army (NVA), must read this book. It offers a rare insight to the frontline army of the cold war, and how weak it was really, when the wall came tumbling down

Rating:
Summary: Essential!
Review: Anyone interested in the intenal works of the East German Army (NVA), must read this book. It offers a rare insight to the frontline army of the cold war, and how weak it was really, when the wall came tumbling down

Rating:
Summary: The German Army that Did Not Fight
Review: Dale R. Herspring argues that the civil-military relations in East Germany were unique to both other Warsaw Pact countries as well as western military establishments during the Cold War Era. Herspring concludes that because the National Peoples Army (NVA) of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) did not resist or, take up arms (neither during the former Soviet Union's policy of Perestroika, nor the events leading to the eventual reuniting of East & West Germany, and the fall of the Berlin Wall) its role was particularly significant in the reuniting process. The author further contends the NVA officer corps welcomed the transition to democracy, and that some, not all, survived the transition to serve in the West German military'Bundeswehr.   Herspring not only provides a concise history of the NVA, but also utilizes an analytical approach by posing a series of questions (which he subsequently answers) concerning the political structure in which the NVA functioned with particular emphasis on civil-military relations within a Communist political system. Herspring supports his theses around three factors: 1) The NVA's failure to thoroughly isolate its military from the civilian population. 2) Lack of cohesive political leadership and 3) Training focused primarily on external as opposed to internal threats. The author also utilizes oral history methods in the form of a circulated questionnaire distributed to NVA officers.   The author acknowledges and draws from the vast array of studies on the fall of Communism in general. Herspring pays particular attention to East German newspaper material. He makes use of memoirs of prominent players as well as studies of the integration of former East German officers into the Bundeswehr.   The book contains a hidden weakness'it is too concise. A study of this magnitude and significance needs to delve into more detail. For example: the section discussing Germany's dual "historical identity" (p. 25) and the new "East" Germany's attempts to portray itself positively in German history (particularly WWII.) encompasses only a page when whole books have been written on this topic (see, Jeffrey Herf. Divided Memory: The Nazi Past in the Two Germanys.1997.). Also, at times, Herspring seems to imply (no doubt, unintentionally) that the NVA existed within a vacuum immune to political polity. This is apparent when the author keeps harping on "why did the NVA not resist reunification?" Overall, The succinctness left me wanting more. If being too short poses a weakness, the structure of the book is an asset. The author formulates his argument well in the introduction and each chapter outlines and summarizes the analytical process well. Most importantly, however, the author saw a deliciously tempting opportunity to incorporate the "new" military history by delving into a unique case study of civil-military relations and accomplished this task marvelously.