Soldiers, Nazis, and War in the Third Reich

Abstract

From its very inception until the present day the Wehrmacht has presented admirers and foes alike with a series of conflicting images. This was evident in the disagreements surrounding its character and capacities during the 1930s and the Second World War as well as in the heated postwar debates between critics and apologists, lately given new impetus by the Historikerstreit.' Moreover, widely differing interpretations of the Wehrmacht have been rooted not only in ideologically determined positions concerning the extent of its collaboration with the Nazi regime but also in the choice of methodological approach. Thus, while some historians have treated the army as a separate institution,2 this article will emphasize the need for an anatomy of the Wehrmacht precisely because it increasingly came to reflect German civilian society.3 This will be illustrated by a brief examination of five major debates concerning the army's image and reality: first, the issue of tradition and modernism in the Wehrmacht;4 second, the relationship between group loyalty and ideological motivation among soldiers; third, the connection between combat discipline and the legalization of criminality; fourth, the contradictions between the army's image as a haven from the regime and that of being the Nazi school of the nation; and fifth, the still contentious debate as to whether the Wehrmacht had retained its shield untarnished or whether it had in fact served as Hitler's main instrument.5