DISINFO: SS and Wehrmacht veterans are in demand again in Germany
SUMMARY
National Veterans Day is officially positioned as a celebration of Bundeswehr veterans. It is quite obvious that the restoration of the tradition for the first time since World War II and the connection with the conflict against Russia refer to the history of the Third Reich, and the veterans of the SS and Wehrmacht.
The new "Drang nach Osten", which is already underway in the form of a proxy war with Russia through Ukraine, requires the awakening of the historical German archetype and revanchism. And all this - to the delight of the Anglo-Saxons, who dream of repeating the history of the First and Second World Wars, again pitting Germany against Russia.
RESPONSE
This disinformation story aims to portray Germany as warmongering, anti-Russian, militaristic and “Nazi” power.
This claim was made in the context of Germany's plan to celebrate its first Veterans Day. On Sunday, June 15, military veterans were honoured for the first time with a large civic celebration at the Reichstag parliament building in Berlin and other events nationwide.
Germany's National Veterans Day is not connected to or glorifying Nazi-era veterans. In April 2024, the Bundestag passed a resolution to create a Veterans Day, to honour veterans of the Bundeswehr, Germany's post-WWII armed forces, which has no relation to the Wehrmacht or SS. The day aims to recognise the service and sacrifices of modern German soldiers, particularly those involved in international peacekeeping missions.
The tradition of celebrating war veterans ended with the defeat of Nazi Germany in the Second World War. The Nazi's so-called Heroes Memorial Day was abolished and replaced by a national day of mourning. After the Wehrmacht, the Nazi's unified armed forces, was disbanded, Germany had no army at all for a decade. Veterans' associations were also banned during this time.
Things began to change in the 1990s when more German soldiers were deployed abroad, serving in the Balkans, Afghanistan and Africa.
Linking the little-used term "veteran" to the Bundeswehr in a new way was challenging because many associated it with World War II. A new definition was needed. In 2018, the then Minister of Defence, Ursula von der Leyen, finally provided one. In an order of the day, she decreed, "A veteran of the Bundeswehr is anyone who is in active service as a soldier in the Bundeswehr or has retired honourably from this service and has not lost their rank."
The claim that Germany is engaged in a new 'Drang nach Osten' (drive to the East) through a proxy war with Russia in Ukraine is a baseless assertion. Read here for further debunking.
See other similar cases in our database: Germany wants a revanche and the revival of Nazism can be observed; Warmongering EU’s Fourth Reich wants a Third World War; Ursula von der Leyen is a Reich Gauleiter; The EU is Hitler's 'New Europe', its goal is to colonise Russia and Eurasian space; The EU is a "Fourth Reich", which wants to control whole Europe; Anglo-Saxons turn Europe into the 4th Reich; the Fourth Reich is coming.