It was part of the I Corps of the Bundeswehr during peacetime, but fell under Allied Land Forces Schleswig-Holstein and Jutland Command in case of war.

The then-named 6th Grenadier Division was constituted in November 1958 as part of the I Corps of the Bundeswehr.

The division provided assistance to civilians during floods in 1962 and 1976, and also fought forest and moor fires in 1959.

The division was given the strategic mission of defending Schleswig-Holstein had a Soviet attack against Germany taken place during the Cold War.

With the end of the Cold War, the German Army restructured and the 6th Panzergrenadier Division was disbanded in 1994.