Wiege der Bundeswehr Andernach

Krahnenberg- Kaserne, 56626 Andernach

Support association Cradle of the German Armed Forces Andernach e.V.

Since 29 October 2010 we have made it our task to promote and support the preservation of the monument WIEGE DER BUNDESWEHR and the military history collection.

Collection

The military history collection WIEGE DER BUNDESWEHR shows the development of German security policy in the early years up to the establishment of the new German armed forces. The beginning in the troop camp Andernach is depicted. The special feature of the exhibition are the interviews with contemporary witnesses, which visitors can call up on monitors in theme-related rooms. Get to know these contemporary witnesses - the first soldiers, those who served in the war and the first volunteers - their origins, their motivation to become a soldier, the experience of the first days and the experiences of training in poor equipment in grimly cold winters. At the centre of the presentation are their accounts of 20 January 1956, the day on which the entire new German armed forces of the army, air force and navy, line up in front of Chancellor Dr Konrad Adenauer on the Andernach barracks and are commissioned with his short but clear speech. Andernach became a symbol, the WIEGE OF THE FEDERAL ARMY

History and motto

On 20 January 1956, the then Federal Chancellor Dr. Konrad Adenauer welcomed the soldiers and members of the New German Armed Forces of the Army, Air Force and Navy gathered on the Antreteplatz. He commissioned this parliamentary army with the active participation of the numerous press, including the international press. In memory of this event of the first over 1000 volunteer soldiers in January 1956, the last barrack was listed in 2009 on the initiative of retired senior physician Dr. med. Franz Adolf Malberg. The opportunity, which is rare in the museum and exhibition business, was taken to present a military history collection at the authentic site of a monument the exhibition in the exhibit. This explains our motto: Remember and preserve - memento et reminiscere

Weitere Informationen

Guided tour duration 90min The exhibition in the exhibit After registering and making an appointment, any individual visitors and groups of visitors can view the military history collection of the Bundeswehr. Training institutions and schools can obtain comprehensive training material free of charge on request. The primary mission of the military history collection Cradle of the Bundeswehr is to specifically collect and preserve the testimonies of material witnesses to the history and origins of the New German Armed Forces, later to become the Bundeswehr, and to preserve them through the necessary conservation measures. The basis is a chronological overview of the emergence of West German security policy, its early goals and political intentions. Using the example of the "First Soldiers" in Andernach, contemporary witnesses and exhibits report on rearmament. The will to join the Western community of values, which was recognisable across all social boundaries, is presented, but also the extremely critical reservations and fears.