A military spokesman on Sunday confirmed a report in Spiegel Magazine that investigators looking for neo-Nazi sympathizers in the ranks of Germany’s Bundeswehr (formerly Wehrmacht) had discovered in the barracks near Donaueschingen, in the Black Forest (how appropriate) a room decorated with Nazi-era memorabilia.
The same spokesman noted that the items in question were not considered to possess “criminal relevance.”
This fresh scandal follows an earlier one concerning the German military: an army lieutenant was arrested for posing as a Syrian asylum seeker in order to carry out attacks on refugees. He, too, possessed a collection of 1933-1945 memorabilia in his barracks room.
German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen was later attacked by the media for criticizing the Bundeswehr leadership, saying they had an “attitude problem.” To which the same Bundeswehr leadership retorted that “leadership goes from the top down.”
Which is German for I am rubber, you are glue (Ich bin gummi, du bist leim).
Last Wednesday, Minister Von der Leyen visited the barracks, in Illkirch, France, where Lt. Franco A had been stationed. She stated that Germany’s modern army does not tolerate any form of admiration for the Nazi Wehrmacht (they did take Europe in under two years, you know).
German Justice Minister Heiko Maas tweeted: “Anyone who glorifies the Wehrmacht has no place at all in the Bundeswehr (and vice versa).”
According to Deutsche Welle, the German army is investigating 275 suspected cases of right-wing extremism in the ranks. One such case involves a soldier who wrote nasty messages to a refugee after asking if she was Christian or Muslim (needless to say, she was not Christian).
Minister Von der Leyen is a close ally of Chancellor Angela Merkel, and her being drawn into a war of words with German generals only five months before the general elections is not helpful to the cause. So she apologized to the generals, like a good soldier, but also warned that she would continue weeding out the neo-Nazis from the ranks.
A retired general named Harald Kujat told Welt am Sonntag that Von der Leyen was hurting the army: “The minister’s criticism of the military’s behavior, leadership and spirit was unacceptable and damaging to the Bundeswehr, while her apology came across as wishy-washy,” he said. “The collateral damage of her remarks will have a bearing on the reputation of our forces and the trust placed in our soldiers.”
Yes, we mustn’t tarnish the reputation of the German army.