During the early Cold War, Speidel emerged as one of the leading German military figures, and played a key role in German rearmament and integration into NATO. He is thus regarded as one of the founders of the Bundeswehr. He was the first officer to be promoted to full General in West Germany and served as Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Land Forces Central Europe from 1957 to 1963, with headquarters at the Palace of Fontainebleau in Paris.