Jan Berges

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Jan Berges (* 1980 in Siegen , North Rhine-Westphalia ) is a German professional soldier in the Bundeswehr . At the end of the 2000s, he and three other Bundeswehr soldiers became known to the public when they brought several injured people to safety during a suicide attack in Afghanistan after a suicide bombing and were later awarded the Bundeswehr Cross of Honor for bravery .

Life

Battalion badge of the FschJgBtl 263 in Zweibrücken (Rhineland-Palatinate).

Jan Berges graduated from the Protestant grammar school in Siegen-Weidenau in 1999 and then joined the armed forces as a temporary soldier (SaZ), where he joined the paratrooper battalion 263 (FschJgBtl 263) in Zweibrücken in Rhineland-Palatinate . After he had initially committed for four years, he later extended his service to 15 years and then became a professional soldier. In 2011 he was employed as a group leader in the 1st  company of FschJgBtl 263 (1./FschJgBtl 263) and held the rank of sergeant major .

As part of the Bundeswehr's foreign missions , Berges took part in the 2008 ISAF mission in Afghanistan; it was his first assignment abroad as a Bundeswehr soldier. When a suicide attack on a German patrol was carried out there on October 20, 2008 near Kunduz , Berges was around 500 meters from the scene of the attack. During the attack, a Bundeswehr transport vehicle caught fire; two German soldiers and five Afghan children were killed, two other soldiers and one other local child were injured. Despite the danger to his own life from the burning vehicle and exploding ammunition, Berges came to the rescue immediately together with the Bundeswehr soldiers Alexander Dietzen , Markus Geist and Henry Lukács . The four soldiers rescued the injured and recovered the dead.

Orders and decorations

Jan Berges and his three comrades were awarded the Bundeswehr Cross of Honor for bravery by Chancellor Angela Merkel and Defense Minister Franz Josef Jung in the Chancellery on July 6, 2009 . It was the first four awards of the Cross of Honor, newly created in 2008, which is the highest award of the Bundeswehr.

public perception

Both the suicide attack in October 2008, which resulted in several deaths, and the relief operation, as well as the award of the Bravery Award in July 2009, aroused public interest . There were numerous reports on both events in Germany and in other countries of the world in the mass media , such as on television (including N24 , 3sat ) and radio (including Deutsche Welle ) as well as in newspapers (including Berliner Morgenpost , Berliner Zeitung , Daily Mail , Der Tagesspiegel , Die Welt , Frankfurter Rundschau , Kölnische Rundschau , Mitteldeutsche Zeitung , NWZ , taz , The Daily Telegraph , WAZ ), in magazines (including Stern ) and online publications (including DerWesten.de , DW-World.de , Focus .de , FR-Online.de , Stern.de , Zeit Online ). Jan Berges - like the other three helpers - was often presented with a brief portrait. He was also interviewed by individual media about both cases.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Short portrait of Sergeant Jan Berges on the website of the Federal Ministry of Defense , as of February 21, 2011; Retrieved June 6, 2011.
  2. ↑ a b c d (ddp): Cross of honor for bravery. Siegen Sergeant Major excellent . On: online portal DerWesten.de , as well as in: Westfälische Rundschau from July 6, 2009; Retrieved June 6, 2011.
  3. ^ A b Mathias Heller: Germany's bravest Afghanistan soldiers awarded a cross of honor. Standing still at the Chancellor's reception of the order . In: Berliner Zeitung of July 7, 2009; Retrieved June 6, 2011.
  4. ↑ a b Merkel and Jung award crosses of honor for bravery . On: website of the Federal Ministry of Defense of July 6, 2009; Retrieved June 7, 2011.
  5. ↑ Merkel wants debate about the changes in the Bundeswehr  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . TV report in N24 from July 6, 2009, as well as news report on: N24.de ; Retrieved June 6, 2011.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.n24.de  
  6. ↑ Heroes honored. Chancellor awards medal of valor to soldiers . On: 3sat.de , as well as an article in the television magazine Kulturzeit on 3sat from July 6, 2009; Retrieved June 6, 2011.
  7. ^ A b Peter Stützle: Bundeswehr. Honor for soldiers and relatives . Radio broadcast on DW-Radio on July 8, 2009, as well as on: DW-World.de ; Retrieved June 6, 2011.
  8. ↑ Thorsten Jungholt: Award. Soldiers receive medals for their bravery for the first time . In: Berliner Morgenpost from July 7, 2009; Retrieved June 6, 2011.
  9. ↑ Allan Hall: German troops get first bravery award since World War Two… even though they are not allowed to fight . In: Daily Mail of July 9, 2009; English, accessed June 6, 2011.
  10. ↑ Merkel demands recognition for soldiers. “We talk too little about stress” . In: Der Tagesspiegel from July 7, 2009; Retrieved June 6, 2011.
  11. ↑ (dpa / ddp / fas): Bundeswehr. Merkel awards soldiers with medals of bravery . In: Die Welt of July 6, 2009; Retrieved June 6, 2011.
  12. ^ A b Bernhard Honnigfort: Order of bravery for Bundeswehr soldiers: cross, good . On: FR-Online.de , as well as in: Frankfurter Rundschau from July 7, 2009; Retrieved June 6, 2011.
  13. ↑ Soldier award . Merkel calls for debate . In: Kölnische Rundschau from July 6, 2009; Retrieved April 25, 2017.
  14. ^ Bernhard Honnigfort: Bundeswehr. A new medal for bravery . In: Mitteldeutsche Zeitung of July 6, 2009; Retrieved June 6, 2011.
  15. ↑ A first for the Chancellery. Armed forces. Selfless commitment after suicide attack in Kunduz  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . In: NWZ of July 7, 2009; Retrieved June 6, 2011. @1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.nwzonline.de  
  16. ↑ Ulrike Winkelmann: Cross of Honor for Bravery. Merkel's promise of loyalty . In: taz of July 7, 2009; Retrieved June 7, 2011.
  17. ↑ Germany awards first bravery medals since Second World War . In: The Daily Telegraph, July 7, 2009; English, accessed June 6, 2011.
  18. ↑ Miguel Sanches: "I have to get the boys out" . In: WAZ of July 6, 2009; Retrieved June 6, 2011.
  19. ↑ a b c Dorit Kowitz, Stefan Schmitz: "Cross of Honor for Bravery": Excellent! . Interview with Jan Berges, Alexander Dietzen and Henry Lukács. In: Stern weekly magazine , issue 32/2009 of July 30, 2009, as well as on: Stern.de of August 6, 2009; Retrieved June 6, 2011.
  20. ↑ (gxs / AP): Bundeswehr. Order of bravery for four German soldiers . On: Focus.de from July 6, 2009; Retrieved June 6, 2011.
  21. ↑ Katharina Schuler: medal award. Brave in Afghanistan . On: Zeit Online from July 6, 2009; Retrieved June 6, 2011.
  22. ↑ See for example: Cross of Honor for Bravery. Siegen Sergeant Major excellent . On: online portal DerWesten.de , as well as in: Westfälische Rundschau from July 6, 2009;
    Mathias Heller: Germany's bravest Afghanistan soldiers awarded the Cross of Honor. Standing still at the Chancellor's reception of the order . In: Berliner Zeitung of July 7, 2009; each accessed on June 6, 2011.
personal data
SURNAME Berges, Jan
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German soldier in the Bundeswehr
DATE OF BIRTH 1980
PLACE OF BIRTH Wins