Germany celebrates first veterans’ day after WWII in historic cultural change

Germany's traditionally reserved attitude toward military parades is rooted in its bellicose war past and the surfacing of pacifist currents in West Germany after 1945

Germany observed its first national day of veterans on Sunday, a major change in a nation where militaristic commemorations have traditionally been met with profound unease. The event, which included ceremonies and festivities nationwide — including a "veterans' village" outside Berlin's Reichstag building — is to officially commemorate the service of German troops for the first time since World War II, the Financial Times said.

The Defence Minister, Boris Pistorius, who presided over the commemorations, said the day represented a "strong, important and long-overdue signal of recognition and appreciation" for Bundeswehr soldiers, living and dead. Although the commemorations deliberately eschewed military hardware like fighter jets or tanks, they marked Germany's changing military identity, particularly following Russia's all-out invasion of Ukraine.

War in Ukraine shifts public opinion

Germany's traditionally reserved attitude toward military parades is rooted in its bellicose war past and the surfacing of pacifist currents in West Germany after 1945. For decades, the term "veteran" had almost exclusively referred to soldiers under Adolf Hitler's reign, not to troops of postwar Bundeswehr, established in 1955.

But Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine altered politics. Germany has radically boosted defence expenditure and military aid to Kyiv, with Chancellor Friedrich Merz promising to establish "the strongest conventional army in Europe." Pundits say this change in defence policy has created room for public recognition of military service.

Sarah Brockmeier-Large of the Peace Research Institute Frankfurt explained the establishment of veterans day was an expression of a "growing awareness in German society that we need an effective armed forces — and that soldiers offer an important public service."

Afghanistan veterans spur grass-roots campaign

The most powerful advocacy for a formal veterans day emerged from German troops who fought in Afghanistan. More than 90,000 Bundeswehr soldiers were sent there between 2002 and 2021, first as peacekeepers and later in increasingly large numbers as combatants against the Taliban insurgency. The mission cost 59 German soldiers their lives and left many others physically and psychologically wounded.

Veterans such as Master Sergeant Thorsten Gärtner, who did five tours in Afghanistan and is suffering from PTSD, have been asking for years for greater public acceptance. "I hope that someday we will get it right like in other nations," Gärtner said. "Acceptance is not yet here. It takes a great deal of time."

Criticism and political opposition continue

The new holiday was not universally greeted, however. Die Linke, Germany's far-left party, held a counter-event called "We won't celebrate your wars" and criticized the government for exploiting veterans day to make militarization normal and gain popularity for army recruitment amidst heightened geopolitical tensions.

Scepticism also persists in eastern Germany, where there are strong voices against the country's arms assistance to Ukraine because of historic ties with Russia. Nevertheless, historians point out that East Germans tend to be disproportionately represented in the lower levels of the Bundeswehr, indicating a complex attitude towards military service.

A first step towards recognition

Despite controversy, Sunday's first-ever veterans day is widely regarded as a watershed moment in Germany's national story. While cultural acceptance of the military will come slowly, Sunday's events represent a public recognition of sacrifices made by contemporary German soldiers — and a guarded but intentional step toward redefining the nation's postwar identity.