Wiederbewaffnung

Wiederbewaffnung usually refers to the Allied-led initiative for the rearmament of West Germany, so it could become a militarily significant part of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) alliance. The postwar West German military, the Bundeswehr, was its product.

A significant part of the West German population, tired of war, opposed it. Politically, this manifested as a fundamental difference between the two political parties. The SPD nationalists, under Erich Ollenhauer, opposed it, while the CDU, under Konrad Adenauer saw as advantageous "integration with NATO (Westintegration) at the cost of a rapid reunification of Germany (Wiedervereinigung).

Western opposition
Some who had rejected past German nationalism, such as Eugen Kogon, argued against it, favoring a military force as part of European federalism.

Soviet position
In response, the Soviets formed the Warsaw Pact.