In 1971, the then Federal Minister of Defense, Helmut Schmidt, commissioned his information and press staff to publish a handbook in which the, leading personalities of the Bundeswehr civilian and military, were to be presented with a picture and CV. This resulted in a small edition of the first “Who’s Who” of the Bundeswehr.
Shortly after the first edition was sold out, the Federal Court of Auditors sent the Ministry of Defense an audit note about the costs that this booklet had caused. Since that time, the few existing copies of the first and only edition have been traded at high prices. In response to numerous requests, the publishing house Wehr & Wissen has therefore agreed to publish this “Who’s Who” in an updated and expanded form and make it available to the public.
It is in keeping with the principle of open information in our society to present the personalities who are at the levers of power, because they are public figures. But it is also in keeping with the need for information to present not only the representatives of the executive branch in the field of defense, but also the representatives of military diplomacy and, last but not least, the members of the Bundestag who have to represent security policy.
Incidentally, we also consider it sensible and useful to present all these personalities because a closer study of their CVs, for example, shows that the Bundeswehr is led by qualified civilian and military leaders. There is therefore no reason to withhold these men, who are in a particularly responsible position in the execution of our security interests, from the public.
On the other hand, we have taken this opportunity to provide representatives of politics and the Bundeswehr with information about part of our defense industry. For this reason, we have included an information section on the defense industry in this handbook. We hope to find an attentive reader in you and would like to point out today that we will be publishing a new edition in about one and a half years‘ time, which will then also appear in English.
By Manfred Sadlowski, editor from 1978 to 2014
Since 2014, the publisher has been Mönch-Verlagsgesellschaft mbH, represented by the managing directors and shareholders Uta and Volker Schwichtenberg
The 25th edition of the Bundeswehr and Defense Industry Handbook has around 800 pages, numerous color portrait photos, graphics, organizational charts and overviews from politics, the military, industry (including the EU and NATO), alphabetical and subject indexes, product presentations, index for products and services.
From the content:
Your first source for high-quality defense and security publications. Since our founding in 1956, we have developed into a trusted source for decision-makers in military and industry worldwide. Our diverse range of magazines, specialist books and online content is available in five languages and offers independent and insightful journalism.
Mönch has been under the leadership of Uta and Volker Schwichtenberg since 2014. We bring business partners together through our print, online and digital platforms.
Mönch Publishing Group: “Required reading for defense professionals”.
Volker Schwichtenberg – CEO
Uta Schwichtenberg – CEO and Attorney-at-law
Christine-Demmer-Straße 7
53474 Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler, Germany
Phone: +49 2641 3703-0
Fax: +49 2641 3703-199
info@moench-group.com
