First veteran day: Germany honors soldiers - and calls for changes!
First veteran day: Germany honors soldiers - and calls for changes!
Hamburg, Deutschland - On June 15, 2025, the first national veteran day took place in Germany to honor the merits of active and former soldiers. In Hamburg, where Defense Minister Boris Pistorius played a central role, around 400 soldiers were promoted to officers in a large promotion appeal. Pistorius underlined the significant position of the Bundeswehr members in our society and their indispensable contribution to peace and security. He emphasized that the veteran day serves to increase the visibility of the soldiers in public and appreciate them appropriately. After a decision of the Bundestag, the veteran day is celebrated annually on weekends before or after June 15th to put the achievements of around ten million Germans who have done military service. rnd reports that about 500,000 soldiers have served in various abroad, for example in Afghanistan and Mali.
The tensions around the veteran day were clearly noticeable. In Hamburg, around 205 people protested against the military celebrations. These rallies were directed against the event introduced by the traffic light coalition, and demonstrated, among other things, with fake Bundeswehr posters. There were similar actions in Berlin, where an antimilitarian alliance demonstrated and placed falsified posters with critical messages in 13 cities. These passionate protests reflected the different opinions about the Bundeswehr and its role in society. nd Aktuell report that in Berlin only about 400 people took part in the protests, which may have been due to summer heat.
an action for the veterans
A particularly moving example of the effort for recognition is the former soldier Robert Müller, who ran almost 100 kilometers from Hamburg to Berlin to take part in the celebrations. The former paratrooper fought over a decade to recognize his post-traumatic stress disorder (PTBS), which he had suffered in Afghanistan. This personal story is representative of the challenges with which many veterans are confronted. Tagesschau emphasizes how important it is to focus on the problems of the injured veterans and find the right hearing for them.
In his speech, Pistorius warned of the upcoming political, social and military challenges and found that the Bundeswehr had massive personnel problems. "We need an increase of up to 60,000 soldiers," said the minister and pointed out that even up to 80,000 additional forces are needed to achieve NATO goals. According to surveys, 80% of Germans have a positive attitude to the Bundeswehr, but there is a gap between this perception and personal contact with soldiers. The events and military demonstrations on the Veteran Day are intended to help close this gap and to promote interest in the activities and background of the soldiers.| Details | |
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| Ort | Hamburg, Deutschland |
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