First veteran day: Mannheim honors heroes of the Bundeswehr with great celebration

First veteran day: Mannheim honors heroes of the Bundeswehr with great celebration

Mannheim, Deutschland - June 15, 2025 marks a memorable day in Germany's history - the first national veteran day was celebrated. The aim of the day is to honor the tireless commitment of the Bundeswehr soldiers for peace, freedom and democracy. The Bundestag had already decided last year to celebrate this day of honor annually around June 15th. At the center of the central event in Berlin was an urgent speech by the Bundestag President Julia Klöckner (CDU), who underlined the importance of visibility and recognition for veterans and called for care and respect. According to the Tagesschau there are around ten million veterans, including both active soldiers and reservists.

over 130 events took place across the country to celebrate this special day. Events such as vehicle exhibitions and security policy information events were organized everywhere. In Mannheim, the only big city in Baden-Württemberg, numerous guests gathered in the Reiss-Engelhorn Museum, where Mayor Christian Specht (CDU) honored six veterans, including the head of department Cathérine Schleicher. Mannheim plans to organize an event for the veteran day again next year.

legislative background and criticism

The decision to introduce the veteran day was under the pressure to provide the soldiers more appreciation in society. Bundestag president Klöckner emphasized that many veterans wear both visible and invisible wounds. In addition to the celebrations, however, there was also criticism from the left spectrum and the peace movement, which criticize the day as “pure militarism”. The German peace society also called for civilian helpers, such as nurses, in this context. Several counter-demonstrations were also registered in the Berlin government district, such as [BR] (https://www.br.de/nachrichten/deutschland-welt/erster-national- veteranentag-es-war-hoechstei-zeit ,uobwGZZ) reported.

The public discussion raises awareness of the challenges with which veterans are confronted. The causes of trauma disorders that many veterans plague according to their missions are diverse. Psychotherapists like Kristina Böttcher describe that many soldiers suffer from anxiety disorders or post -traumatic stress disorders (PTBS). Such complaints can be caused by traumatic experiences in missions. The Bundeswehr also built up a network of pastoral care and social work to help those affected, but the process for recognition of military service damage often remains opaque and leads to legal disputes.

challenges of veterans

In particular among the soldiers concerned, dealing with the consequences of the missions is a challenge. According to ZDF, about 2.9 percent of the soldiers used are faulty than to PTSB, but the number of unreported people should not be much higher, since many affected people should not seek any help. Symptoms such as flashbacks, sleep disorders and inner unrest are signs of this stressful experience. These are all topics that were put in the foreground on the veteran day and should sensitize the public.

The veteran day offers a platform to give this often invisible fighting voice. While the celebrations appreciate the services of the Bundeswehr soldiers, social responsibility, also recognizing the numerous challenges, is clearly in space.