2017/08/31 by Chern Chen · 2 citations
Arts and Humanities · Social Sciences · #Historical and Contemporary Political Dynamics #Communism, Protests, Social Movements #Historical Geopolitical and Social Dynamics
paper · doi:10.1080/07075332.2017.1367705
openalex publication_date 2017/08/31 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/29
In the early days of the Cold War, Syria was the first Arab country where former officers of the German Wehrmacht played an active role as military advisors. This was due, in part, to the fact that Germany was not burdened by its past political relations to Arab states for, in contrast to the Western powers, Germany which had never had territorial ambitions in the Near East. Even in the very early stages, German advisors contributed considerably to the development of Syria's armed forces and military intelligence. The advisory activities of German experts became even more intensive as a result of increased trade between the two countries; however, in 1956 the political situation in Syria worsened and the country began moving towards the Eastern Bloc putting an end to the non-official activities of German military advisors.