Veterans Day | Festival for Warfare

Next Sunday, the so-called "Veterans Day" will take place for the first time. This old-fashioned militaristic ritual fits into the German state's program to achieve "war readiness."

Although the political will appears unbroken following the change of government, and at least the financial efforts to rearm are no longer limited, the program to create a "war-ready" Germany continues to encounter a material limit: there are still not enough people willing to enlist in the Bundeswehr. Despite intensive advertising expenditures (over 53 million euros in 2024 alone) and a pro-military hegemonic discourse, the number of people who would actually be willing to kill and die for Germany in the event of war remains small. One possible response from the government is direct coercion, which explains the recently omnipresent debate about conscription. However, much is being set in motion at the discursive and ideological level to create the desired "war-readiness."

In military and political jargon, "war readiness" no longer refers solely to a powerful military. Rather, it describes a state in which the entire society unites behind the war aims and everyone contributes to their implementation. Veterans Day, which was already established by the traffic light coalition government in 2024 and will now take place every June 15th, is an example of a measure aimed at fostering this mental aspect of war readiness.

The Bundeswehr is particularly close to the people

Unlike the "Day of the Bundeswehr," a variation of the "Open Day" at Bundeswehr facilities, which has been taking place since 2014, the Bundeswehr itself states that Veterans Day is "not a Bundeswehr Day for the Bundeswehr," but rather is aimed at society as a whole. Specifically, this means that not only remote Bundeswehr facilities will host individual events and celebrations, but also events similar to folk festivals will be held at central locations nationwide.

At these events, the Bundeswehr presents itself as particularly close to the people.

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A total of 118 events are taking place in almost all German states (Saarland being an exception). These range from beer and sausage stands to stage-long bike tours to public military parades and swearing-in ceremonies. The central event takes place in front of the Bundestag in Berlin, including a festive program specially tailored to children. What these events have in common is that the Bundeswehr presents itself as particularly close to the people everywhere and aggressively courts the civil society audience. The aim is to generate acceptance, appreciation, and admiration for the Bundeswehr and the military. This also explains the reference to the term "veteran," which has so far found little everyday use in German society. Unlike in the USA, for example, there is no active veteran culture. There, the often precarious social living conditions of people on active duty, who frequently suffer permanent damage to their bodies and lives, are garnished with a certain amount of social recognition.

"A culture of veterans and fallen soldiers is a constant obligation"

However, this is now set to change. The 2023 "Defense Policy Guidelines" already state: "The Bundeswehr, including the Reserve, belongs at the heart of society. It must be experienced where people are. [...] An active culture of veterans and fallen soldiers, supported by society, is a constant obligation." The definition of the word "veteran" is intended to appeal to as many people as possible. Not only people who have served in combat operations, but all those who serve or have served in the Bundeswehr and were honorably discharged fall under the Bundeswehr's definition – around ten million people in Germany. Appeals from the Bundeswehr to "veterans" emphasize the appreciation that every member of the military deserves, regardless of their role.

This again indicates that combat readiness requires broad social mobilization, which affects more than just the military apparatus. Reservists, i.e., individuals who have completed basic military training but are no longer on active duty, also play a special role. They could fulfill the function of establishing the military even more broadly in society than the active Bundeswehr structures. Furthermore, in the event of war, they are assigned certain tasks, such as taking over and coordinating civilian areas, for example, in administration, hospitals, and logistics. Reservists are also expected to make up a large portion of the so-called "homeland defense divisions." These are tasked with maintaining military order on the "home front," i.e., within the country, in the event of war. This includes violent suppression of protests or any processes that complicate the war effort.

"Veterans Day? We don't celebrate your wars!"

The Bundeswehr's personnel growth plans up to 2030 therefore include not only increasing the number of active soldiers to 203,000, but also the number of reservists to around 300,000. How this will be achieved in concrete terms, including whether a shortened basic training program will be offered, is still being feverishly worked on. Given all this, it's no wonder that many of the festivities on "Veterans Day" are explicitly aimed at reservists, who, after all, make up the majority of "veterans." One notable example is the so-called "1st Reservist Pledge" in Vechta, where reservists can renew the oath they took during basic training to German values, obedience, and patriotism.

Protests were already announced in many places ahead of the celebrations. A broad alliance of left-wing groups from Berlin is calling for protests against the main event under the slogan "Veterans Day? We don't celebrate your wars!" The oath of allegiance in Vechta is also being met with opposition, with the Interventionist Left and other groups in the area calling it "Refusal Day instead of Veterans Day." Whether the Bundeswehr will be able to stage a smooth self-promotion in light of this remains to be seen.

Jonas Uphoff is active at the Information Center on Militarization in Tübingen and author of the IMI study "From the Dirty Corner to Systemic Relevance. The Medial Turning Point in Public Discourse on Rheinmetall."