Building on a strong foundation of primary sources, this unique study traces the role of East Germany's military (NVA) in the country's unification with West Germany. Utilizing interviews with and questionnaires from NVA officers, Herspring unravels the puzzle of the NVA's decision against using force to save the political system it was sworn to serve. The author also examines the integration of a select minority of officers and NCOs into the Bundeswehr. Illuminating the problems encountered by the Bundeswehr as it incorporated these individuals, Herspring constructs an ideal type of officer in one of the most politicized and tightly controlled of all communist militaries. His findings will be invaluable for all military-political specialists and for anyone interested in the process of transition from authoritarian/totalitarian to democratic systems.

"In Requiem for an Army, Dale R. Herspring offers a useful English summary of the events surrounding the collapse of the East German military. Professor Herspring contribution is to have identified the key actors as well as the questions we should ask them to determine why the NVA permitted a peaceful transition to democracy and reunification." - Journal of Conflict Studies

"The remarkable materials assembled in the Herspring volume in the desintegration of the NVA will make this book the point of departure for analysis of a military-political event that had no precedent as of 1989." - Contemporary Security Policy

"All in all a fascinating account; it is hard to fault the thorough treatment of the topic. It fills an important gap in the publications on German unification available in English." - Political Studies Review

"[Herspring's] book fills important gaps in our understanding of Germany's unification." - CHOICE, October 1999