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Germany will mark its first-ever Veterans’ Day on 15 June. Defence Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) said it was about “recognising those who are willing to go the extra mile for others, and who risk life and limb for our country”. <\/p>\n
Getting to this point has taken years, though. “We’ve been campaigning for this Veterans’ Day for nearly 15 years,” said Andreas Eggert, Secretary General of the German Veterans’ Association, Bund Deutscher EinsatzVeteranen e.V, speaking to Euronews. <\/p>\n
Germany needed a day that properly acknowledges the service of its veterans. But before that could happen, the association had to reintroduce and redefine the very concept of a veteran. The word itself was long burdened by its associations with the Second World War, added David Hallbauer, the association’s Deputy Federal Chairman. <\/p>\n
The goal, he explains, was to establish a new understanding \u2013 that the Bundeswehr had developed its own, modern tradition, from which a distinct veteran identity could emerge. <\/p>\n
When the Association of German Veterans was founded in 2010, it faced significant opposition. “People dismissed us as outdated,” Hallbauer recalled. “We first had to explain that we were talking about individuals who had rendered a special service to Germany through their time in the Bundeswehr.”<\/p>\n
The war after the war<\/p>\n
For the Association of German Veterans, it’s not just about recognition and appreciation, but also about supporting those who were injured in service.<\/p>\n
A National Veterans’ Day can serve as a platform to highlight these issues and shine a light on the shortcomings that still need to be addressed.<\/p>\n
This includes mental health support, particularly for soldiers suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Many wait years for help. According to Eggert, the longest known case he’s aware of took 13 years before support was granted.<\/p>\n
“We have a real problem with bureaucracy dragging everything out,” Hallbauer explained, adding that for those affected, it feels like a war after the war.<\/p>\n
“These delays could be avoided by speeding up the decision-making process. If someone has to wait twelve years to be recognised, that’s clearly not in anyone’s interest,” he said.<\/p>\n
Before a case is approved, authorities must establish a direct link between a deployment and the resulting illness. “You first have to prove that you were even deployed,” Hallbauer explained. “As someone who’s been injured, you\u2019re expected to demonstrate that you were on the ground \u2013 and that the experience you had there damaged your health.”<\/p>\n
Eggert adds that in Germany, there’s an additional hurdle: the traumatic event itself must meet strict criteria before any therapy or treatment is approved.<\/p>\n
As part of what’s known as the military service compensation process, the extent of an individual\u2019s injury is assessed \u2013 which then determines any potential pension entitlements. <\/p>\n
“The process often seems designed more to fend off claims than to support those affected,” said Eggert. “That’s why all cases are treated in the same rigid manner at first.” Personal history, including childhood experiences, is also taken into account \u2013 something the Veterans\u2019 Association sees as misguided. “Instead of focusing on individual background factors unrelated to trauma, the process should centre on the incident that occurred during deployment and the resulting physical or psychological strain,” Eggert concluded. <\/p>\n
According to him, a shift in the burden of proof would mark real progress. “It shouldn’t be up to the injured person to prove that deployment made them ill, the Bundeswehr should have to prove that it didn’t. That kind of reversal is exactly what’s been missing so far. It appears there\u2019s no political will to change that”, he told Euronews. <\/p>\n
“It should be possible for a soldier to go on deployment with peace of mind, knowing that if they\u2019re injured, they\u2019ll be properly looked after,” Hallbauer. <\/p>\n
This sense of security, he continued, simply doesn\u2019t exist in Germany today.<\/p>\n
More money for defence. But what about the veterans?<\/p>\n
Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, defence has returned to the political agenda<\/strong><\/a>across much of Europe. <\/p>\n Former Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) declared a “Zeitenwende” \u2013 a turning point, after Russia started its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Defence spending has since increased, with the stated aim of making Germany “fit for war” once again.<\/p>\n