Abstract

Wolf Graf von Baudissin is well known for his reformatory concept of the armed forces called Innere Führung. He emphasises the idea of building up a Western German army, a new start in a democratic environment. Baudissin’s ideas are born out of the experience of injustice and inhumanity shown by many German soldiers and the organisational structure of the Wehrmacht. After World War II German military leaders excused the absence of morals in their conduct with the necessity of obedience. Innere Führung means that the soldier is a human being, thus guided by his individual conscience and eternal law. Innere Führung has moreover a second meaning: It forms a military organisation which guarantees the individual soldier freedom, human and political rights, participation in military and political decisions, and responsibility for his acts. Therefore, Innere Führung is a concept to anchor democracy in military structures. Because of the actual problems of military missions abroad the founding ideas of Innere Führung are still of increasing importance.