Due to high degrees of formalization and routinization, modern bureaucracies are often considered to primarily follow a merit-based rationale in their recruitment and promotion decisions. The roots of this perspective can be located in Max Weber's pioneering work that emphasizes the principles of bureaucratic rationality and meritocracy. But do even bureaucracies that are most closely aligned with Weber's perspective really follow such a clear merit-based logic? Highlighting the critical roles of cognitive limitations and social affection in promotion and hiring decisions, we develop a theory that suggests that even in highly formalized modern bureaucracies that are subject to performance-inducing external pressures, prestige and personal connections remain central to bureaucratic careers. We subsequently test this theory with the extreme case of top-level promotions in a highly formalized military bureaucracy subject to intense war-related pressures in the form of the German Wehrmacht during World War II.