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July 07, 2009
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has honoured four soldiers for their service during a Taliban attack in northern Afghanistan, calling their actions, “an inspiration, not only for their comrades but for us all".
On 20th October, 2008 in the northern Afghan region of Kunduz a suicide bomber blew himself up near a vehicle carrying Henry Lukacz, Jan Berges, Alexander Dietzen and Markus Geist. The explosion killed two German paratroopers as well as five Afghan children. At the risk of their lives the four soldiers, between 28-33 years of age, rescued a seriously wounded soldier and stood by another one trapped inside the burning vehicle.
An appropriate honour
The new Cross of Honour for Bravery, is the military's first such medal since the end of World War II when it stopped awarding the Iron Cross tarnished by its use in Nazi Germany. Some see this as another sign of Germany emerging from its post-World War II diplomatic and military shell since the country's reunification in 1990.
Ulrich Kirsch, the chairman of the German Federal Armed Forces Association (DBwV), which represents the interests of servicemen and women, told public television that the medal was a fitting recognition of the military's increasing role in international missions.
"The soldiers are so close to death and injury and that's not the situation in other jobs... We consider this honour entirely appropriate."
Kirsch dismissed accusations that the re-introduction of a military valour award could lead to a revival of a hero cult as nonsense. A sentiment echoed by Merkel, who said acts of bravery in the armed forces deserved recognition.
Until today Germany, which currently has just over 8,000 soldiers deployed abroad, including an anti-piracy mission off the coast of Somalia and a naval mission off the coast of Lebanon, was the only country not to honour its armed forces with a medal of valour.
The Cross of Honour for Bravery was introduced last year for "special valour at risk of physical danger or death" during peacekeeping and other dangerous assignments as a reflection of the expansion of the German military's role in the world and recognition that more soldiers are in the line of fire in global hot spots."There has been a change in the way war is being fought"
"This is a new form of war in Afghanistan and so it is a new thing to try to find something that could be a motivation for the soldiers. But the idea of an award has been around for some time and cannot be tied solely to the latest events. German soldiers are working together with many allies in Afghanistan and other nations all have their awards. All countries have a way of recognizing the work their soldiers do and we Germans are no different, We do not need to exempt ourselves from this," DBwV press officer Wilfried Stolze said.
The new medal features a golden Maltese cross with a German eagle at the center, hung on a ribbon with the colors of the German flag - black, red and gold - with double oak leaves. It is an extension of the German army's current range of four decorations, which are given for loyal service and in appreciation of exemplary soldierly execution of duty.
| by Tanya Wood |
| © Deutsche Welle, German Information Centre New Delhi |
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