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Great article about one of the amazing moments in modern world history. It does not go enough into detail, but it is already a thrilling read: A country that w
by wuschel 11y ago
Great article about one of the amazing moments in modern world history. It does not go enough into detail, but it is already a thrilling read:
A country that was to be the conventional and possibly nuclear battleground between NATO and Warsaw Pact reunited in a moment of amazing timing.
"Wir sind ein Volk!" .. what a powerful slogan, given Germany century old struggle for its definition and borders. I still remember those cheap east german Trabant cars suddenly invading West Germany, and people not believing that the decade old separation was gone.
With unification, the border between the two superpower blocks moved further east, and the power of balance changed in Europe. And the notion of Germany being a battlefield like Tom Clancy sketched it in one of his books faded away.
The sad part these days was the conflict in the Balcans. I hope that these documents will be published as well, revealing some of the politcal game making in that time.
- creshal 11y ago> A country that was to be the conventional and possibly nuclear battleground between NATO and Warsaw Pact reunited in a moment of amazing timing. On both sides, generations of German soldiers were trained to shoot nuclear missiles on each other to turn all of Central Europe into a glass desert. The reunification was one hell of a culture shock for both sides.
- hwh 11y agoOn neither side, German soldiers had direct access to a nuclear arsenal, however. There were missile bases in West Germany alright, under control of American forces. And there were mobile soviet bases in the eastern part, under control of Russian forces. Only a small subset of german soldiers had training in the operation of nuclear weapons, mainly parts of the air force (plans were that nuclear bombs would have been given to them in the case of a conflict).
- creshal 11y agoWestern German rocket artillery units (150th-650th battalion) were equipped with nuclear-tipped Lance/Sergeant SRBMs. The American forces only had control over the warheads (and "control" usually meant "were responsible for patrolling the storage shed holding the warheads, while being surrounded by several German mechanized divisions").
- wuschel 11y agoThe Prora museum on the island of Rügen (the Kraft durch Freude Hotels) is worth visiting in that regard. It illustrates war planning (tactical and strategic nuclear strikes) in the case of a soviet attack and the projected civilian losses.