During World War II, Bahr served as a soldier in the Wehrmacht from 1942 until 1944, ultimately in the capacity of “Fahnenjunker” (cadet) in the Luftkriegsschule VI in Kitzingen.

[4] From 1950 to 1960, he served as chief commentator of the Bonn bureau of RIAS, (“ Rundfunk im amerikanischen Sektor”, or "Broadcasting in the American Sector").

From 1984 to 1994, Bahr served as the Director of the Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy at the University of Hamburg, from which he received an honorary professorship in 1984.

In that capacity, Bahr served as the spokesman for the Senate of Berlin, which was led at the time by Mayor Willy Brandt.

From 1966 to 1969 Bahr served as an ambassador and as Ministerial Director of the Planning Staff of the German Foreign Office (Auswärtiges Amt).

[citation needed] He is also credited with two of the Brandt government's most influential mottos describing West Germany's relationship with the German Democratic Republic, “Wandel durch Annäherung” ("change through rapprochement", a speech at the Evangelische Akademie Tutzing) and “Politik der kleinen Schritte” ("policy of small steps").

In 1980, Bahr became a member of the Independent Commission for Disarmament and Security under the chairmanship of Swedish politician Olof Palme.

Benneter had piqued much political ire by expressing the view that the German Communist Party could be a potential coalition partner for the SPD, a statement that put the status of the youth organization into jeopardy.

[citation needed] On 27 November 1988 he described the demands for German reunification as "Sunday talk, (...) lies, hypocrisy that poisoned us and others, political pollution.

"[10] Bahr went on to publish various writings about the future of German foreign policy following the end of the Cold War (see "Publications" below).

He advocated among other things for Europe and Germany to exercise greater influence in the world as a "Civilian power" (“Zivilmacht").

In an interview with the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung in 2005, Bahr confessed that, as a teenager, he had felt a "certain pride" that Poland, France, Denmark, and Norway had been conquered so quickly by the German Wehrmacht.

Bahr received an honorary doctorate in 2008 from the Internationales Hochschulinstitut Zittau in recognition of his service to the process of unifying Europe.