Schilling, Daniel Die Rudel-Affäre 1976. Genese, Wirkung und Folgen eines politischen Skandals

Daniel Schilling examines in this volume how the Bundeswehr, politics and the media in the Federal Republic of Germany dealt with tradition, historical politics and soldierly virtues at the end of the 1970s. In doing so, he shows how a lack of reflection and awareness of the problem brought a basic dilemma of German armed forces into the headlines.

The question of role models and traditions has preoccupied the Bundeswehr and its air force since its founding. In essence, it has always been a question of whether it is still appropriate to cultivate genuine soldierly virtues in the cultivation of tradition, even if they were performed for a criminal regime. In autumn 1976, Colonel (ret.) Hans-Ulrich Rudel was invited to a tradition meeting at an airbase of the German Air Force. This meeting was also made explosive by the fact that Rudel moved politically far into the revisionist and anti-constitutional milieu of the young Federal Republic. Responsible officers subsequently appeased this invitation with a comparison that was particularly skewed during the 1976 Bundestag election campaign and were subsequently dismissed. The prehistory, course and reception of his visit were to lead to one of the most lasting scandals in the history of the Bundeswehr. Volume 11 of the series "Schriften zur Geschichte der Luftwaffe".