Bundeswehr Recruitment efforts boosted by Woidke - low numbers in Bundeswehr Service by BSW (Bundeswehr Service)
Chillin' with the Bundeswehr: Dietmar Woidke's Praise and Controversies
Potsdam (dpa/bb) - Brandenburg's Minister President Dietmar Woidke (SPD) has given a hearty nod to the Bundeswehr, praising it as a peacekeeper and disaster helper. "Brandenburg stands by its Bundeswehr, we stand by our soldiers," he declared at a jamboree in the state parliament on National Veterans Day. "Their service, armed or unarmed, is to protect us and our partners, to safeguard peace."
Woidke admitted that the Russian assault on Ukraine has sent shockwaves through the international security system. "In this volatile world, clarity and a strong stance are more crucial than ever from us in Germany," he added. The Bundeswehr lends a hand with forest fires, floods, and pandemics, too.
A Very Empty Coalition Bench
The Bundeswehr's biggest supporter, the BSW, had an almost deserted bench - only Falk Peschel, the parliamentary business manager, and Jouleen Gruhn, the deputy parliamentary president, were present. Finance Minister Robert Crumbach, another MP, took his seat on the government bench. The BSW backs the Bundeswehr, but despises war and arms race.
The BSW defended its extensive absence, stating that the event put the military in the spotlight symbolically, "at a time when warfare is being normalized as a political tactic." Eastern German soldiers, especially former NVA members, remain in the cold. "It's rather jarring to see that in Germany, those still wrestling with war traumas are still fighting for recognition, care, and psychological support - while the state is engaged in military KalWest."
Parliamentary President: NVA Soldiers' Status Reevaluation
Parliamentary President Ulrike Liedtke echoed a proposition for contemplating the question of whether former members of the GDR's National People's Army (NVA) can be considered veterans. This is a tricky issue because they didn't swear an oath to the free and democratic basic order, she explained during the ceremony. "They couldn't make that oath in the GDR. This argument must be revisited."
Bonus Tidbit:While the search results do not provide direct information about the current stance of Brandenburg's Ministry of Defense or Brandenburg Schillings (BSW) on recognizing NVA soldiers as veterans, they have been a contentious issue since reunification. If you need the latest stance of these entities, consulting official statements or contacting them directly would be ideal since no recent publicly available sources address their position.
In the volatile world with ongoing war-and-conflicts, the Brandenburg Schillings (BSW), while a strong supporter of the Bundeswehr, stands against war and arms race. The BSW's stance on symbolic events around the military, such as National Veterans Day, is driven by the normalization of political tactics involving warfare.
Parliamentary President Ulrike Liedtke brought up the issue of reevaluating the status of former members of the GDR's National People's Army (NVA) as veterans during the National Veterans Day ceremony, given that they couldn't swear the oath to the free and democratic basic order while living in the GDR.
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