The scene is gloomy. With dark coats, steel helmets and gloomy expressions, soldiers march in front of the Reichstag with torches in hand – to the sound of drums and trumpets. The ceremony on Wednesday was the big tattoo. It is the highlight of the memory of the fallen men and women who gave their lives to the Afghanistan mission over the past 20 years.
But the pictures cause a lot of criticism on the Internet. Many feel reminded of Nazi Germany by the torchlight procession in front of the Bundestag. «What is the militaristic ritual from Prussia and the Nazi era? More than 175,000 people died in the war – mostly civilians, “said Green politician Hans-Christian Ströbele (82) on Twitter.
And is not alone in that. «The pictures are scary. Steel helmets, torches, boots slamming on the pavement, ”commented the tattoo on Twitter.
Zapfenstreich has a long tradition
A shit storm unfolds on Twitter – to which the Ministry of Defense reacts promptly. «Debate is necessary and important. Comparisons with Germany’s darkest chapter disappoint us. The Bundeswehr is a parliamentary army. As such, it has its place in the midst of society – on special occasions also in front of the Reichstag building, ”the authorities point out.
Because the big tattoo has a long tradition. The military-musical ceremony dates from the 19th century. The Great Zapfenstreich, as it is known today, was performed for the first time on May 12, 1838 in Berlin – and has not been changed from there. Even in the days of the Nazis in the Third Reich, this was the way to commemorate the fallen soldiers or to dismiss high-ranking politicians from their office.
Some cannot understand the fuss surrounding the ceremony either. You defend the great tattoo and the process that goes with it. For example Fritz Felgentreu (53). “In my opinion, the real reason for the outrage over the Great Zap is that everything that has to do with the military is unpleasant for large parts of the public. You don’t want to deal with it, ”writes the SPD politician.
«Unbearable derailment towards our soldiers»
The FDP politician Johannes Vogel (39) finds it untenable that the Wehrmacht is suddenly remembered against the backdrop of the Afghanistan ceremony. This is “an unbearable derailment vis-à-vis our soldiers and our democracy. That is simply not possible – period. “
At the same time, the 39-year-old thinks it’s good that “many people initially have a queasy feeling when they see polished helmets and torches in front of the Reichstag building, we shouldn’t condemn them – that we have this particular sensitivity speaks in truth very much for our society. “
The criticism of the tattoo is not new, by the way. At the end of the 1990s, politicians even tried to make the ceremony disappear completely from the Bundeswehr. (jmh)