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Senior Editor
Published, then removed, by Houston Chronicle, cached copy here
Nazi past prevents revival of Iron Cross
Germans have no medal for valor or being wounded
BERLIN — The German army today has no awards for courage, only for attendance. The painful debate here over reviving the famed Iron Cross to fill that gap underscores how distant Germany remains from normality when it comes to the military.
As allies, including the United States, are pressing Germany to send more troops into the most dangerous parts of Afghanistan, the country is only beginning to reconnect with the trappings of armed deployments. Not only does the German Bundeswehr lack medals of valor, it does not even have anything comparable to the Purple Heart for wounded soldiers.
Georg Martin, 83, a private during World War II, received the now-defunct Wound Badge in silver for the three times he was severely injured, and an Iron Cross for fighting in a heavy machine-gun crew during the Battle of Kharkov in what is now Ukraine. In fact, he has two of each. Once a year, on Volkstrauertag, the national memorial day, he dons replicas he purchased for a few Deutsche marks in 1959. Meanwhile, in a file with copies of his military hospital records are the original crosses, both bearing the swastika of the Third Reich.
The history of the Iron Cross, designed by the noted German architect and painter, Karl Friedrich Schinkel, dates to 1813 and the Prussian War of Liberation against Napoleon. But as is so often the case here, it is the Nazi history that takes precedence.
A symbol of Nazi crimes
Because Hitler's government placed the swastika in the center of the simple black and silver design and handed out millions of the medals in World War II, the award remains off-limits for today's army.
"The symbol was abused by the Nazis and, as a result, has also become a symbol for the crimes of the Wehrmacht during National Socialism," said Stephan Kramer, secretary-general of the Central Council of Jews in Germany. Kramer said he believed that German soldiers deserved a medal for bravery, but one with a new design rather than the tainted one.
"I don't think it will come back in that form," agreed Martin, who is active in the local German War Graves Commission, in an interview at his home in the Bavarian village of Ingenried last week. "Of course they should have something," he said of soldiers fighting in Afghanistan. But he added with a smile and a glint in his eye, "They could have something prettier."
Germany's defense minister, Franz Josef Jung, plans to request a new grade of the Cross of Honor for bravery, according to a spokesman, a citation that is awarded in bronze, silver and gold for five, 10 and 20 years of service, respectively. While, in exceptional cases, they can be awarded earlier for individual acts, Crosses of Honor are not considered medals of valor.
A revival of the Iron Cross is not under consideration, the spokesman said. That disappoints many, particularly in the military, who would like to see the Iron Cross revived as a symbol of pre-Nazi military tradition.
Proud of earlier era
"The crimes of National Socialism took place under the swastika and not under the Iron Cross," said Siegfried Storbeck, a retired lieutenant general living in Hamburg. In a telephone interview, Storbeck said Germany would always have to carry the burden of Nazi-era crimes, but asked for "understanding for what came before National Socialism."
What frustrates Storbeck and other supporters of the Iron Cross is that they see it as having emerged from an era about which they believe Germans could be proud and should learn more.
"This was part and parcel of the famous Prussian enlightened reform era, which included, a year earlier in 1812, Jewish emancipation, legal rights for Jewish citizens," said Michael Wolffsohn, a professor of modern history at the University of the Bundeswehr in Munich.
Oddly, while it is considered a political impossibility as a medal, the Iron Cross remains the symbol of the German army, emblazoned on everything from military vehicles to the defense ministry Web site. But that is different from an award for heroism, a concept that many still find troubling in a country where the last recognized military heroes fought for a Nazi regime responsible for the deaths of 6 million Jews.
Anti-militarism entrenched
"In the German culture it is simply not possible to express esteem for young soldiers," said Christoph Zuercher, a professor of international politics at the Free University in Berlin. Anti-militarism is a firmly centrist view in the political spectrum in Germany, he said.
It was not until 1955, 10 years after World War II, that the German army was reconstituted. It would be 40 more years before the Bundeswehr would undertake its first foreign combat operations, by Tornado fighter jets in the former Yugoslavia in 1995.
The effort to revive the Iron Cross has surfaced many times in recent years. It gained steam last year when a young airman gathered more than 5,000 signatures on an Internet petition to restore it. On March 4, the leader of the Bundeswehr reservists' association and a member of parliament, Ernst-Reinhard Beck, called for a medal for bravery, adding that he would have "nothing against the Iron Cross."
Stefan Schroeter, a major in the army reserves, recalled a case during his deployment in Bosnia in 2003 in which the brakes failed on an armored reconnaissance vehicle on a high mountain road. The driver of the vehicle behind it passed the out-of-control vehicle and stopped in front of it, risking his life and those of his crew members to save their comrades from hurtling off the mountain.
Schroeter said that in a staff meeting, the soldier's commander said, "It's a shame that there isn't a decoration for bravery, or I would put him up for it."
The soldier received two extra vacation days instead.
Nazi past prevents revival of Iron Cross
Germans have no medal for valor or being wounded
BERLIN — The German army today has no awards for courage, only for attendance. The painful debate here over reviving the famed Iron Cross to fill that gap underscores how distant Germany remains from normality when it comes to the military.
As allies, including the United States, are pressing Germany to send more troops into the most dangerous parts of Afghanistan, the country is only beginning to reconnect with the trappings of armed deployments. Not only does the German Bundeswehr lack medals of valor, it does not even have anything comparable to the Purple Heart for wounded soldiers.
Georg Martin, 83, a private during World War II, received the now-defunct Wound Badge in silver for the three times he was severely injured, and an Iron Cross for fighting in a heavy machine-gun crew during the Battle of Kharkov in what is now Ukraine. In fact, he has two of each. Once a year, on Volkstrauertag, the national memorial day, he dons replicas he purchased for a few Deutsche marks in 1959. Meanwhile, in a file with copies of his military hospital records are the original crosses, both bearing the swastika of the Third Reich.
The history of the Iron Cross, designed by the noted German architect and painter, Karl Friedrich Schinkel, dates to 1813 and the Prussian War of Liberation against Napoleon. But as is so often the case here, it is the Nazi history that takes precedence.
A symbol of Nazi crimes
Because Hitler's government placed the swastika in the center of the simple black and silver design and handed out millions of the medals in World War II, the award remains off-limits for today's army.
"The symbol was abused by the Nazis and, as a result, has also become a symbol for the crimes of the Wehrmacht during National Socialism," said Stephan Kramer, secretary-general of the Central Council of Jews in Germany. Kramer said he believed that German soldiers deserved a medal for bravery, but one with a new design rather than the tainted one.
"I don't think it will come back in that form," agreed Martin, who is active in the local German War Graves Commission, in an interview at his home in the Bavarian village of Ingenried last week. "Of course they should have something," he said of soldiers fighting in Afghanistan. But he added with a smile and a glint in his eye, "They could have something prettier."
Germany's defense minister, Franz Josef Jung, plans to request a new grade of the Cross of Honor for bravery, according to a spokesman, a citation that is awarded in bronze, silver and gold for five, 10 and 20 years of service, respectively. While, in exceptional cases, they can be awarded earlier for individual acts, Crosses of Honor are not considered medals of valor.
A revival of the Iron Cross is not under consideration, the spokesman said. That disappoints many, particularly in the military, who would like to see the Iron Cross revived as a symbol of pre-Nazi military tradition.
Proud of earlier era
"The crimes of National Socialism took place under the swastika and not under the Iron Cross," said Siegfried Storbeck, a retired lieutenant general living in Hamburg. In a telephone interview, Storbeck said Germany would always have to carry the burden of Nazi-era crimes, but asked for "understanding for what came before National Socialism."
What frustrates Storbeck and other supporters of the Iron Cross is that they see it as having emerged from an era about which they believe Germans could be proud and should learn more.
"This was part and parcel of the famous Prussian enlightened reform era, which included, a year earlier in 1812, Jewish emancipation, legal rights for Jewish citizens," said Michael Wolffsohn, a professor of modern history at the University of the Bundeswehr in Munich.
Oddly, while it is considered a political impossibility as a medal, the Iron Cross remains the symbol of the German army, emblazoned on everything from military vehicles to the defense ministry Web site. But that is different from an award for heroism, a concept that many still find troubling in a country where the last recognized military heroes fought for a Nazi regime responsible for the deaths of 6 million Jews.
Anti-militarism entrenched
"In the German culture it is simply not possible to express esteem for young soldiers," said Christoph Zuercher, a professor of international politics at the Free University in Berlin. Anti-militarism is a firmly centrist view in the political spectrum in Germany, he said.
It was not until 1955, 10 years after World War II, that the German army was reconstituted. It would be 40 more years before the Bundeswehr would undertake its first foreign combat operations, by Tornado fighter jets in the former Yugoslavia in 1995.
The effort to revive the Iron Cross has surfaced many times in recent years. It gained steam last year when a young airman gathered more than 5,000 signatures on an Internet petition to restore it. On March 4, the leader of the Bundeswehr reservists' association and a member of parliament, Ernst-Reinhard Beck, called for a medal for bravery, adding that he would have "nothing against the Iron Cross."
Stefan Schroeter, a major in the army reserves, recalled a case during his deployment in Bosnia in 2003 in which the brakes failed on an armored reconnaissance vehicle on a high mountain road. The driver of the vehicle behind it passed the out-of-control vehicle and stopped in front of it, risking his life and those of his crew members to save their comrades from hurtling off the mountain.
Schroeter said that in a staff meeting, the soldier's commander said, "It's a shame that there isn't a decoration for bravery, or I would put him up for it."
The soldier received two extra vacation days instead.