Guardians of Honor: A Personal Reflection on Prussian Values and the German Military Tradition

Growing up in Germany as the child of Pakistani immigrants, I was raised in two worlds - one shaped by the traditions of my family's heritage, and the other by the values of the country I came to call home. Like many second-generation immigrants, I navigated my identity through questions of belonging, history, and culture. Yet, over time, I found myself increasingly drawn to an unexpected source of inspiration: the old Prussian and German military tradition. What may sound paradoxical - a person of non-European background embracing a legacy often viewed as rigid and aristocratic - became, for me, a path to understanding the essence of duty, honor, and principled service.

The more I studied German history, the more I recognized that the Prussian ideal of the soldier was not rooted in conquest or blind nationalism, but in a deep sense of professionalism, ethical responsibility, and service to the state. Figures like Carl von Clausewitz, Gerhard von Scharnhorst, and Helmuth von Moltke the Elder embodied a disciplined, thinking military elite that placed great importance on moral action, intellectual rigor, and loyalty not to a man, but to a constitutional order. This tradition, carried through the Imperial German Army and later the interwar Reichswehr, stood in stark contrast to what the Nazi regime would later unleash through the Waffen-SS.

It is a tragedy of history that these values were so thoroughly betrayed during the Third Reich. The Wehrmacht, though initially preserving much of the Prussian tradition, was increasingly subordinated to Hitler’s personal will and the ideological madness of National Socialism. The rise of the Waffen-SS - a brutal, hyper-politicized paramilitary force - marked a terrifying departure from the ethical and professional military standards of old. While the SS borrowed the external trappings of tradition - ornate uniforms, military pomp, Germanic symbolism - it was, in truth, an anti-traditional, revolutionary force that sought to erase the Prussian legacy. Its loyalty was not to the nation or to law, but to Hitler and racial doctrine. For a Prussian officer of the old school, the Waffen-SS was a betrayal - a distortion of everything the German military once stood for.

What I find most admirable is that even within the Wehrmacht, there were men who recognized this betrayal. The July 20 plotters - Claus von Stauffenberg among them - came from the very aristocratic and Prussian backgrounds that critics often dismiss as elitist or reactionary. And yet, it was these very men, shaped by those values of duty and honor, who stood up to tyranny when others bowed. They understood that a true soldier's oath is not to a dictator, but to conscience, to country, and to justice.

After the war, the founding of the Bundeswehr marked a turning point - not just a military reorganization, but a profound moral reformation. With its principle of Innere Führung and the idea of the Staatsbürger in Uniform - the citizen in uniform - the new German armed forces were designed to reclaim the best elements of the Prussian tradition while purging the ideological poison of Nazism. I deeply admire this synthesis: a professional army that upholds constitutional values, sees itself as a servant of democracy, and teaches its soldiers to think, reflect, and, when necessary, disobey unlawful orders. This, to me, is the ultimate expression of strength - not just physical, but moral.

As someone of Pakistani descent, I take no pride in romanticizing militarism, nor do I wish to gloss over the darker chapters of German history. But I do believe that the Prussian-German military heritage, at its best, offers a model of leadership, integrity, and ethical discipline that transcends borders and backgrounds. It is a tradition that, when divorced from nationalism and tyranny, becomes a universal lesson in how to wield power responsibly.

In today’s uncertain world, where authoritarian temptations still linger and the concept of duty is often distorted by ideology, I find comfort and inspiration in those old German values - not as relics of the past, but as timeless principles. And I am proud that the country I now call home has found a way to preserve that legacy, not through conquest or glory, but through democratic strength, humility, and a quiet, steadfast commitment to what is right.