Wolf Graf von Baudissin (8 May 1907 – 5 June 1993) was a German

general A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". O ...

, military planner and peace researcher. He was one of the developers of the concepts of ''Innere Führung'' (officially translated as "leadership development and civic education") and ''Staatsbürger in Uniform'' ("citizens in uniform"), the two lead concepts of the modern German ''

Bundeswehr The ''Bundeswehr'' (, meaning literally: ''Federal Defence'') is the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. The ''Bundeswehr'' is divided into a military part (armed forces or ''Streitkräfte'') and a civil part, the military part con ...

''.

Early life

Baudissin was born in

Trier Trier ( , ; lb, Tréier ), formerly known in English as Trèves ( ;) and Triers (see also names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle in Germany. It lies in a valley between low vine-covered hills of red sandstone in the ...

into the Baudissin family. He studied law, history and economics in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constit ...

. In

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, Baudissin served as ''

hauptmann is a German word usually translated as captain when it is used as an officer's rank in the German, Austrian, and Swiss armies. While in contemporary German means 'main', it also has and originally had the meaning of 'head', i.e. ' literal ...

im Generalstab'' (captain with the

General Staff A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, enlisted and civilian staff who serve the commander of a division or other large military ...

) at the personal request of General

Erwin Rommel Johannes Erwin Eugen Rommel () (15 November 1891 – 14 October 1944) was a German field marshal during World War II. Popularly known as the Desert Fox (, ), he served in the ''Wehrmacht'' (armed forces) of Nazi Germany, as well as serv ...

. He was captured by

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country b ...

n troops in North Africa in 1941, and sent to Australia, where he was held in the Dhurringile

prisoner-of-war camp A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured by a belligerent power in time of war. There are significant differences among POW camps, internment camps, and military prisons. P ...

in Victoria. While a POW, he was promoted to

major Major ( commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicat ...

. At Dhurringile, Baudissin developed the idea of the ''Kriegsgefangenenuniversität'' ("prisoner-of-war university"). He organized classes in which German prisoners with particular knowledge or expertise taught their comrades in various subjects and prepared them for a life after the war. Baudissin was released in 1947.

Career in the ''Bundeswehr''

In October 1950, Baudissin worked on the secret '' Himmeroder Denkschrift'' ("Himmerod Memorandum"), a paper advocating

German rearmament German rearmament (''Aufrüstung'', ) was a policy and practice of rearmament carried out in Germany during the interwar period (1918–1939), in violation of the Treaty of Versailles which required German disarmament after WWI to prevent Ger ...

. In 1956 he helped to create the new German armed forces, the ''

'', receiving the rank of

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge ...

, and soon headed a tank brigade. In 1963, he was promoted to

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

and was appointed Commandant of the NATO Defence College in Paris, serving until 1965. Baudissin then served as Deputy Chief of Staff at

Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) is the military headquarters of the NATO, North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO) Allied Command Operations (ACO) that commands all NATO operations worldwide. ACO's and SHAPE's commander ...

(SHAPE), the headquarters of

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

After the ''Bundeswehr''

Baudissin retired in 1967, and became an active member of the

Social Democratic Party of Germany The Social Democratic Party of Germany (german: Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, ; SPD, ) is a centre-left social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany. Saskia Esken has been ...

the following year. He actively supported

Willy Brandt Willy Brandt (; born Herbert Ernst Karl Frahm; 18 December 1913 – 8 October 1992) was a German politician and statesman who was leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) from 1964 to 1987 and served as the chancellor of West Ge ...

's bid for chancellorship in 1972. From 1971 to 1984, Baudissin served as founding director for the ''Institut für Friedensforschung und Sicherheitspolitik'' ("Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy") at the

University of Hamburg The University of Hamburg (german: link=no, Universität Hamburg, also referred to as UHH) is a public research university in Hamburg, Germany. It was founded on 28 March 1919 by combining the previous General Lecture System ('' Allgemeines V ...

. In 1979, he was made

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professo ...

. From 1980 to 1986, he served as professor for social science at the University of the Bundeswehr in Hamburg. With the concepts of Innere Führung and citizen in uniform he advocated to assure that the norms and values of the

German Basic Law The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany (german: Grundgesetz für die Bundesrepublik Deutschland) is the constitution of the Federal Republic of Germany. The West German Constitution was approved in Bonn on 8 May 1949 and came in ...

were embedded in the new German armed forces following World War II. Baudissin died in

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

in 1993.

Awards and honors

Baudissin was a member of the peace movement group ''Generale für den Frieden'' ("Generals for Peace"). In 1967, he was awarded the Theodor Heuss Prize and the ''

Bundesverdienstkreuz The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (german: Verdienstorden der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, or , BVO) is the only federal decoration of Germany. It is awarded for special achievements in political, economic, cultural, intellect ...

'' (Great Federal Cross of Merit), with stars and sash. On 19 April 1994, the hall of the Bundeswehr's ''Zentrum für Innere Führung'' ("Center for Civic Education") in

Koblenz Koblenz (; Moselle Franconian: ''Kowelenz''), spelled Coblenz before 1926, is a German city on the banks of the Rhine and the Moselle, a multi-nation tributary. Koblenz was established as a Roman military post by Drusus around 8 B.C. Its n ...

was renamed ''"Forum Wolf Graf von Baudissin"''. On 7 June of the same year, the "General Schwartzkopff Barracks" in Osdorf were renamed "Lieutenant General Graf von Baudissin Barracks".Website Academy of the Bundeswehr
Retrieved 12 June 2008

Personal life

His wife was the sculptress Dagmar Gräfin zu Dohna-Schlodien (1907–1995). She was a daughter of jurist and politician Alexander Graf zu Dohna-Schlodien.

Notes

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baudissin, Wolf Graf von 1907 births 1993 deaths Bundeswehr generals Wolf Graf von Baudissin Military personnel from Trier People from the Rhine Province Social Democratic Party of Germany politicians Counts of Germany Recipients of the Iron Cross (1939), 1st class Himmerod meeting participants Lieutenant generals of the German Army German prisoners of war in World War II World War II prisoners of war held by Australia Grand Crosses with Star and Sash of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany German Army officers of World War II