The prize is bestowed by the German Ministry of Defence every two years.
In his will, he bequeathed funds to go towards a science award for military history.
The prize was administered by the Federal Office of Defense Technology and Procurement in Koblenz (now Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support, part of the German Ministry of Defence).
[1] As of 2018, the advisory board includes Michael Epkenhans (Center for Military History and Social Sciences of the Bundeswehr), Marian Füssel [de] (University of Göttingen), Johannes Hürter (Institute of Contemporary History (Munich)), and Brendan Simms (Oxford University), among others.
It is chaired by the historian Sönke Neitzel (University of Potsdam).