The new veterans

Since Afghanistan, nothing has been the same. Four letters have dominated Holger Rossmeier's life ever since he was deployed overseas: PTSD – post-traumatic stress disorder. The combat soldier suffers from nightmares, panic attacks and uncontrollable outbursts of aggression.

But these psychological wounds are not his only worry. "It is humiliating when my sons have to listen to people telling them, 'Your father is a murderer,'" Rossmeier told the journalist Ulrike Scheffer. Scheffer and the photographer Sabine Würich collaborated on the project and book "Operation Heimkehr" (Operation Homecoming).

Melanie Baum, another soldier interviewed, says, "I don't make a point of telling everybody that I'm in the navy. I've had some bad experiences." Baum's former teacher accused her of being a "paid murderer."

Many combat soldiers complain that there is a lack of recognition in society. "The average man on the street isn't interested in security policy," Uwe Köpsel of the German Armed Services Association told DW. There is an "attention deficit" concerning the Bundeswehr's engagements abroad, he said. Difficult military deployments in crisis regions, soldiers killed, traumatized veterans - "It's an uncomfortable subject," says Köpsel.

Opposition to foreign deployments

The fact is that around 4,800 Bundeswehr soldiers are currently on active service in crisis regions around the world. Many are still in Afghanistan, while others are in places like Kosovo, the Horn of Africa and Mali. But as the soldier Holger Rossmeier says in the book, "Most people are hardly aware of the new reality of the Bundeswehr."

Yet, at the same time, politicians never seem to tire of emphasizing that in future Germany will be taking on more responsibilities on the international stage, despite the fact that Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier has spoken of a "deep rift between the foreign policy elites and the general public."

According to a survey by the Körber Foundation, which analyzes aspects of society, two out of three Germans are opposed to overseas troop deployments. So why is there such a gulf between what politicians decide and what the majority of the people believe is right?

Distant wars

One reason is that war is a hard sell for German society. For almost 70 years now, since the end of World War Two, people have got used to peace.

"These deployments to far-off countries are part of the reason why the image and acceptance of soldiers remain unclear," the military historian Klaus Naumann of the Hamburg Institute for Social Research explained in an interview with DW. Many people think: What do crisis regions, like Afghanistan or South Sudan, have to do with us? The conflicts are thousands of miles away and have little to do with the daily reality of the majority of Germans living in peace and prosperity.

Klaus Naumann blames politicians for the lack of interest among the population. He says that they do not differentiate enough when reporting on complex deployments like the one in Afghanistan. "An annual progress report on its own is not enough to properly inform people about successes, partial successes, or failures," criticizes Naumann. What exactly soldiers experience abroad remains unclear.

But how does one go about changing the image of Germany's veterans? Does Germany need a (new) "veteran culture?" And if so, what exactly would this be like?

Interest groups, like the Association of German Veterans, have long been demanding an official day of commemoration. Former Defense Minister Thomas de Maiziere spoke in favor of a Veterans Day, but his successor, Ursula von der Leyen, has yet to take a position. That's why, this year, the German Veterans' Association decided to organize a Veterans Day themselves.

Changed reality

For her part, instead of an official commemoration day, von der Leyen has organized a so-called "book of remembrance:" 20 bronze plaques on which are engraved the names of all the soldiers who have died in service since 1955. "With this we are demonstrating that not one is forgotten," she said, adding that every single name stands for her heartfelt gratitude. Moving but empty words? Or a sincere effort for greater public recognition?

It's clear to Uwe Köpsel of the BundeswehrVerband that "a culture of veterans is not something you can decree:" it has to grow. A Veterans Day could make a contribution. However, as Klaus Naumann points out, it must not be allowed to deteriorate into a kind of "token day." He also warns against "old-school reactionaries becoming right-wing radicals."

It's not a question of establishing a veteran's culture like the one that exists in the United States, but rather of acknowledging a new reality. Germany is sending more soldiers abroad; consequently, more soldiers are returning from these deployments. Perhaps movies or TV series could introduce more plotlines dealing with foreign deployments. This would also help to change the way society thinks about them. "Sometimes the picture they present is distorted," Köpsel says. "But it's better than nothing."