A large majority of German special forces are part of the Kommando Spezialkräfte (KSK).
The specific reason for the establishment of the Kommando Spezialkräfte (KSK) was the evacuation of German citizens by Belgian Para-Commandos during the Rwandan genocide in 1994.
This task was carried out by special forces of the Para-Commando Brigade from Belgium, the former colonial power, as agreed upon in advance by NATO partners.
The German government chose not to intervene directly because neither the Federal Border Guard (Bundesgrenzschutz) GSG 9 unit, established in 1972 after the Munich Massacre, nor the German Army Paratrooper Companies B1 (Commando) were trained for guerrilla warfare situations.
The Kommando Spezialkräfte Marine (KSM) was founded in 2014 and was based upon the Commando Frogmen Company (Kampfschwimmerkompanie), one of Germany's oldest special operations units.
Established as a counter-terrorism unit by the Bundesgrenzschutz in 1972 following the Munich Massacre, the GSG 9 served as a model for the formation and alignment of the Kommando Spezialkräfte (KSK) in 1996.
The Brandenburgers were a special forces unit of Nazi Germany's Wehrmacht during World War II.
The unit was created by Theodor von Hippel, who envisioned small, highly trained groups capable of sabotage and infiltration behind enemy lines.