In 1960, Hans-Peter von Kirchbach set off with other conscripts for camp Stegskopf in the Westerwald. This is where his time as a soldier began, and a soldier he was to remain for 40 years, until the last second of his short but eventful tenure as Inspector General. Along von Kirchbach's impressive career from conscript young soldier to the highest military representative of the Federal Republic and later to the president of a major aid organisation, numerous exciting as well as instructive, unique as well as anecdotal accounts unfold from his very personal perspective.
They bear witness to the great historical highlights of the recent history of the Bundeswehr, which von Kirchbach experienced at first hand in various ranks and actively helped to shape - from the sensational deployment during the flood disaster on the Oder in 1997 to the oppressive foreign missions in Kosovo and Bosnia-Herzegovina to the difficult restructuring of the army after the unification of the two German states in 1990. His ability to meet everyone at eye level, to make listening and understanding the maxim of his work, characterised his many encounters with numerous high-ranking politicians, church representatives and cultural figures as well as with sergeants, scouts, trainees and paramedics. An autobiographical narrative like a pilgrimage through the many stations of his remarkable life, through barracks, training grounds, parade grounds and ministerial offices, through rescue stations, kindergartens and old people's homes, from Koblenz to Eggesin to Potsdam and Berlin, as a general, commander, president and diplomat - but above all as a human being, with his heart on the line: that is what this book tells of.
