Germany marks its first Veterans Day on June 15th. Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) said it was “to recognize those willing to put extra distance for others and to risk our country’s lives and limbs.”
But it took me years to get to this point. “We have been campaigning for this Veterans Day for nearly 15 years,” Andreas Eggert of Bund Deutscher Einsatzveteranen EV, executive director of the German Veterans Association, told Euroneus.
Germany needed a day to properly recognize the service of veterans. But before that happened, the association had to reintroduce and redefine the very concept of veterans. The word itself has long been burdened by the association with World War II, added David Hallbauer, the association’s assistant federal chairman.
The goal he explains was to establish a new understanding that Vandeswale developed its own modern tradition.
When the German Veterans Association was founded in 2010, it faced great opposition. “People dismissed us as outdated,” recalled Hallbauer. “First, I had to explain what I was talking about individuals who provided special services to Germany throughout my time in Vandeswale.”
Post-war war
For the German Veterans Association, it is not just about recognition and gratitude, but also about supporting injured people in service.
National Veterans Day serves as a platform to highlight these issues and shed light on the shortcomings that still need to be addressed.
This includes mental health support, particularly for soldiers suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Many people are waiting for help. According to Eggert, the longest known case he knows took 13 years to grant support.
“We have a real problem with bureaucracy dragging everything out,” Hallbauer explained, adding that it feels like a post-war war for those affected.
“These delays can be avoided by speeding up the decision-making process. If you have to wait 12 years for someone to be recognized, that’s clearly not in anyone’s interest,” he said.
Before the lawsuit is approved, authorities must establish a direct link between deployment and the resulting illness. “We need to prove that it was first unfolded,” Hallbauer explained. “As an injured person, you are expected to demonstrate that you were on the ground, and it shows that the experience you had there has been hurting your health.”
Eggert adds that there are additional hurdles in Germany. The traumatic event itself must meet strict standards before treatment or treatment is approved.
The extent of an individual’s injury is assessed as part of what is known as the military service compensation process. This determines your potential pension eligibility.
“This process is often designed to dodge claims rather than helping those affected,” Eggert said. “That’s why every case is treated in the same strict way at first.” Personal history, including childhood experiences, is also considered. This is what the Veterans Association considers to be misguided. “Instead of focusing on individual background factors that are not related to trauma, the process should focus on the incidents that occur during development and the resulting physical or psychological tensions,” concluded Eggart.
According to him, a change in the burden of proof will mark real progress. “It’s not up to the injured to prove that the development has made them worse, Vandeswale should have to prove that it isn’t, and such a reversal is exactly what they’ve lacked.
“It should be possible for soldiers to deploy with peace of mind. If they are injured, they know that they will be taken care of properly,” Hallbauer said.
This sense of security he continues, does not exist in Germany today.
More money for defense. But what about veterans?
Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, defense has been made Political agendaMost of Europe.
Former Prime Minister Olaf Scholz (SPD) declared “Zeitenwende” after Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The defense spending then aims to “fit for war” again.
But if the country is suitable for defense, the first focus is obvious Re-contractsaid Eggart. “We are facing a shortage in both equipment and personnel, and there is a large portion of the money going on. But it would have been good if only 10 million of the 10 billion euro special fund had been secured to properly care for those who were injured, injured or sick during deployment.”
