This paper traces the sequence of debates and decisions that led to the opening of all units in the German military to women (2001). This dramatic sets of reforms was not the result of extensive mobilization by grassroots organizations in Germany. Instead, women’s integration into the Bundeswehr was in many senses the direct consequence of an externality in the form of a European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruling (C-285/98, Tanja Kreil v. Federal Republic of Germany) in early 2000. Indeed this policy change transpired in spite of a history in Germany of resistance to women’s inclusion. On several occasions since the Bundeswehr’s establishment in 1955, various political elites had suggested opening more military positions to women, but both German women’s and feminist movements and socially conservative voices strongly opposed. One interest group alone – the German Military Association (Deutscher Bundeswehrverband, DBwV) – had stated its support but never fully mobilized around the issue.
The paper presents the demands of women who wanted to pursue careers within the Bundeswehr as a case best understood using the analytical tools of intersectionality. These demands illustrate the dynamics of multiple disadvantage in the following ways. First, gender is a source of disadvantage in making any demands of the state. Further, and unlike many countries, Germany’s military itself is not high-status. Women wishing to gain opportunities within the Bundeswehr are simultaneously challenging fierce gender norms, making it even more difficult. The only reason women gained the right to serve in the Bundeswehr was that this change was wrought from "above" through the ECJ. In presenting this argument, the paper draws upon contemporary German news coverage, ECJ documents, transcripts of Bundestag plenary session debates, and the text of the proposed laws.
