German veteran policy post-1955
Although the policy of reparation and recognition for veterans was abruptly interrupted in the wake of the Second World War in Germany, it has been resumed in recent years for service personnel deployed on overseas operations.
The German tradition of honouring and celebrating veterans was extinguished at the end of the Second World War. Heldengedenktag, or “Heroes’ Day”, which officially honoured the members of the Wehrmacht, was discontinued after Germany’s unconditional surrender in 1945. It was replaced with Volkstrauertag, the “Day of National Mourning” in memory of the victims of war and tyranny of all nations. In 1946, the Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge, the German war graves commission, began to erect and maintain war memorials and military cemeteries. At the end of the conflict, the war-wounded received medical care and vocational support to assist their social reintegration. With the Wehrmacht dissolved, Germany no longer had an army, until the creation of the Bundeswehr on 12 November1955. Veterans’ associations were still prohibited. The new Federal Republic of Germany did not immediately witness the emergence of a new veterans’ tradition. Unlike other States, no specific policy for veterans was put in place.
Towards a culture of overseas operations veterans?
The attitude of German society towards veterans steadily changed with the start of overseas operations by the Bundeswehr in the 1990s. To date, approximately 350 000 servicemen and women have been deployed to Afghanistan, the Middle East, the Balkans and Africa. Over 100 have lost their lives, and many have come back wounded or traumatised.
It is primarily these women and men returning from overseas operations who wanted to see the emergence of a veteran culture and better account to be taken of veteran issues. In August 2010, they founded an organisation to defend their rights, the Bund Deutscher Veteranen, subsequently renamed the Bund Deutscher EinsatzVeteranen e.V., or BDV. The BDV considers any member of the Bundeswehr who has taken part in overseas operations to be a veteran, and offers them, as far as possible, practical support.
Policy has reacted to this change. Although to begin with no specific policy for veterans was introduced, major legislative changes were brought in to ensure account was taken of Bundeswehr personnel wounded on overseas operations. The definitions set out in the Law on the pensions of veterans and their successors and the Law on keeping personnel wounded on operations in the armed forces brought substantial improvements. On the other hand, initial attempts to introduce a veteran culture were unsuccessful, due to the lack of a definition agreed by all stakeholders.
Veteran’s badge.
“Increasing recognition from society”
It was not until 23 November 2018 that the then federal Minister of Defence, Ursula von der Leyen, defined the term “Bundeswehr veteran”. A Bundeswehr veteran is considered to be any serviceman or woman on active service or who has been honourably discharged, i.e. who has not been stripped of their rank. Rather than emphasising differences, this deliberately broad definition sought instead to highlight the common ground.
Alongside this definition, the minister also asked for proposals to be drawn up on how to honour the nearly ten million veterans of the Bundeswehr. The purpose of all these policy measures focusing on veterans was above all to increase society’s recognition and appreciation of the accomplishments of these veterans. They also sought to improve the support and assistance given by the Bundeswehr to its veterans. There needed to be an emphasis, therefore, on the practical needs of those who were or had been enlisted in the Bundeswehr.
Above all, it was necessary to establish a framework to enable systematic work in support of veterans. To that end, the Bundeswehr’s deputy chief of staff took on the role of veteran affairs representative for the Bundeswehr. A group of expert advisers, comprised of people working in the field of veteran affairs, was formed to assist him. Guidelines were drawn up and implemented by the federal Ministry of Defence, in the form of a living document setting out the working principles of the Bundeswehr with regard to veterans. Meanwhile, on 15 June 2019, the minister awarded the first veteran’s badges, as part of a Bundeswehr public open day. That day, over 65 000 active and discharged servicemen and women received their veteran’s badge.
The first veterans’ badges are awarded by the German Minister of Defence, Ursula von der Leyen, at Fassberg air base, 15 June 2019. © Reservistenverband/Sören Peters
Initiatives in aid of the wounded
Today, the ministry makes every effort to draw up and implement concrete measures aimed at promoting the recognition and acknowledgement of veterans and improving the support and assistance they receive. With the support of a great many veterans’ organisations, proposals have been drawn up, are under examination or have been partly implemented. Those proposals include fundamental, structural considerations on the future organisation of veteran support and the introduction of a “Veterans’ Day” or better use of the Bundeswehr open day and other events in the media spotlight, as well as specific initiatives like the high-profile 2023 Invictus Games in Düsseldorf, continual improvements to the situation of service personnel with physical or psychological injuries, and the issue of special stamps. Hosting the Invictus Games is an excellent opportunity for our country to have a real impact on improving the social perception and promoting the recognition and acknowledgement of veterans.
Meanwhile, veteran policy is focused on those who have suffered physical or psychological injuries on deployment. Considerable improvements have been made in recent years to the support given to military personnel. But we must nevertheless remain attentive and fill any obvious gaps. For instance, a draft plan is currently being drawn up for a Veteranenheim, a home for veterans. It includes a proposal aimed at giving greater visibility to the accomplishments of the Bundeswehr, with a focus on the provision of counselling to servicemen and women with physical or psychological injuries, and to veterans.
Besides this draft plan, there are a great many areas of activity which the federal Ministry of Defence hopes to engage with in the future, always in partnership with veterans’ associations.