Against transfiguration and forgetting On the death of naval historian Werner Rahn

A Naval Historical-Tactical Conference without the thoughtful and questioning contribution of Dr Rahn from the first ranks of the dignitaries was previously unthinkable - now it has become a sad truth due to his death in November 2022.

Unlike many of his predecessors with and without uniform, the aim of his work was not the unconditional defence of the "blue cloth" against all critics, but rather the arduous and often unpleasant "search for historical truth", which was also the programmatic title of one of his most important writings. The numerous studies by Captain (retired) Dr Rahn (Crew X/60) ranged between meticulous analysis, critical presentation and fair judgement. Arguing in a balanced manner, without being both accuser and judge, he was able to fulfil the responsibility of a naval historian in the post-war period.

Already during his studies in Hamburg, he devoted himself to a difficult topic in his dissertation on the "Reichsmarine and National Defence", published in 1976 - the role of a navy in the years of defeat, upheaval and temptation between the wars. For him, this work formed the scientific hinge for many internationally respected studies on the Imperial Navy before and after the war. His writings range from an account of the submarine war in the Second World War to editions such as the 68-volume "Kriegstagebuch der Seekriegsleitung" 1939/1945. He took a detailed and differentiated look at naval construction programmes and naval warfare, naval policy and the historical responsibility of their commanders-in-chief as well as navies in all the world's seas. Lectures at home and abroad, teaching at the US Naval War College in Newport and the award of the Hattendorf Prize for his life's work bear witness to the esteem in which he was held.

At the naval school and command academy, he was one of the founders of modern teaching in military history and encouraged a critical look at the past of his own guild. On the one hand, he saw naval movements from the past as a basis for critical judgement of strategy, tactics and operational thinking. On the other hand, for him, knowledge of the causes of the mutinies of 1917/18 and Raeder's dictum "Never again in 1918" made it possible to realise and understand that Innere Führung and the ideal of the "citizen in uniform", that "leadership of men" in itself, were and are one of the most important lessons from the past.

But as critical as Werner Rahn was of the navy's history, he was proud to be a member of a new navy committed to liberal ideals. Wherever he could, he stood up for them, persuaded young officers in dialogue and advised the navy leadership on historical occasions, even if they did not always follow his advice. In Captain (ret.) Dr Rahn, the German Navy has lost an outstanding scientist and mentor who shaped it and its officers.

From an obituary by the Military History Research Office.

Michael Epkenhans and Jörg Hillmann