Swearing-in and pledge by soldiers of the Bundeswehr

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The swearing-in and vow of soldiers of the Bundeswehr is a - mostly solemn - ceremony at the beginning of their service. The text of the formula differs between soldiers who do voluntary military service or military service in accordance with the conscription law - they make a solemn vow - and temporary soldiers and professional soldiers who, like civil servants , speak an oath of service , but with their own formulation. The Defense Committee had decided in 1956 - after hearing and a. also by representatives of the churches - against a swearing-in, but decided in favor of a solemn commitment of all soldiers. The decision on the oath and solemn pledge in its current form was made on March 6, 1956 in the German Bundestag with 221 votes in favor and 193 against with abstentions.

Oath of service or vow are set out in Section 9 of the Soldiers Act and are intended to promote the integration of the young recruit into the soldier's community (integration function), bind him to his military duties on an emotional level (security function) and have an educational effect on the soldier in the sense of his function exercise in the state (awareness-raising function). In addition, when taking the oath with the religious affirmation formula, there is an ethical-religious function as an additional affirmation of commitment.

" I swear to serve the Federal Republic of Germany faithfully and to bravely defend the rights and freedom of the German people, so help me God ."

- § 9 Soldiers Act, oath formula for professional and temporary soldiers

" I vow to serve the Federal Republic of Germany faithfully and to bravely defend the rights and freedom of the German people."

- § 9 Soldiers Act, formula for conscripted soldiers

The italic type does not exist in the legal text, it serves to emphasize the differences or special features of the formulas. "The oath can also be taken without the words" so help me God ". If a federal law allows members of a religious society to use other form of assurance instead of the words "I swear", the member of such a religious society can use this formula of assurance. "

Oath of service

Setting up for swearing-in at the Mürwik Naval School

Large swearing-in events take place e.g. B. in the Officers School of the Navy ( MSM ) and at the locations of the Air Force Training Battalion. Swearing-in in the army takes place in the officer candidate battalions and the medical training regiment (for medical officer candidates for the army), although their basic training has largely been carried out jointly since 2007 both in the battalions and in the army officer school. Furthermore, soldiers take their oath of service wherever longer-serving soldiers complete their basic training, i. H. the swearing-in often takes place with the vow of those doing military service.

The date for taking the oath is usually in the middle of basic training, and the barracks area is usually chosen as the location. Although in most cases a celebratory framework is created to strengthen the oath as a symbol of solidarity with the Federal Republic of Germany and the Bundeswehr, this can also be done e.g. B. take place in the commander's office.

Since under the oath of service are mostly soldiers who take part in the basic training for long-serving soldiers, but still have a right of revocation of their appointment as a temporary soldier (SaZ) / professional soldier (BS), mostly some soldiers "only" their vow - the oath of service will be made up for with the appointment to the temporary employment service.

Pledge

Main article: Solemn pledge

Solemn pledge with the Bundeswehr: Entry of the honor formation with troop flag and air force music corps at the top.

Every quarter where basic training units are stationed, solemn vows take place regularly. In order to show what service the young conscripts do to society and to anchor the Bundeswehr as an army in the middle of society (ideal of the citizen in uniform , see also Inner Leadership ), the vows are - whenever possible - public vows instead of. Until the 1980s, this was hardly possible due to protests and disruptions from the peace movement .

Expiry of oath of service and vow

The process of taking the oath of service is basically the same. It is not regulated by the Soldiers Act, but by the central guideline A2-2630 / 0-0-3 "Forms and Celebrations of the Bundeswehr" (formerly ZDv 10/8, Chapter 1).

The process is planned in detail beforehand and written down in the form of a command. First the recruits move in and line up. This is followed by the march in of the troop flag , which is escorted by a platoon of honor under rifle and a music corps as well as two flag escort officers. At larger events or on special occasions (e.g. on the anniversary of the assassination attempt on July 20, 1944 in Berlin or on the occasion of Scharnhorst's 250th birthday in Bordenau ), instead of the parade of honor, an honorary company of the guard battalion at the Federal Ministry is or will be the defense of the Federal Ministry of Defense (BMVg). A traditional German army march is played for the entry .

The list of pledges is reported to the officer taking the job, who walks along the front with the representative or representatives of public life (e.g. mayor or district administrator) who are present. This is accompanied by a presentation march , in practice - depending on the region or armed forces - the Bavarian presentation march (in the state of Bavaria), the Prussian presentation march (other federal states) or the Dutch march of honor as a presentation march of the Navy.

This is followed by speeches by a person from public life ( mayor , district administrator , state secretary of the BMVg, federal chancellor or foreign representative), the commander of the unit concerned and, for some years now, one of the recruits. In between, other military marches are played, usually including the traditional march or marches of the association concerned.

As an introduction to the actual vow, the music corps plays the vow chorale "Old Dutch thanksgiving prayer ( We step to pray )" by Adrianus Valerius , in Bavaria the "Bavarian military prayer " by Johann Kaspar Aiblinger follows instead . Then the bearers of the troop flag step forward together with delegations of the recruits, and the commander takes the pledge from the recruits. Then the national anthem , in Bavaria also the Bavarian anthem or in Schleswig-Holstein the Schleswig-Holstein song , is sung. At central events, e.g. B. in front of the Reichstag building in Berlin, the European anthem is then played. The troop flag and form of honor march out to the sound of the music corps, and finally the recruits' pledge of vows march out.

This is usually followed by (and / or before) an open day , at which the unity is presented to the public and the relatives of the soldiers.

Meaning of oath of service and vow

Above all, the vow has primarily symbolic meaning, since the vowed fulfillment of the basic duty of the soldier exists independently of the performance of the vow. If a soldier refuses to take part in the vow, he will be excluded from promotion for the remainder of his service life, but otherwise he has no sanctions to fear as part of basic military service (in the sense of conscription). Voluntary military service and service as a temporary or professional soldier is not possible without a vow or oath, so that the previously rarely used option of refusing a vow has completely lost its importance with the suspension of compulsory military service.

The oath of service or the pledge for many recruits and their relatives and acquaintances is of considerable ideal significance, since the soldiers publicly “promise” their loyalty and solidarity with the state and the people. This ideal significance is also evident in special traditions in the Bundeswehr, so it is common in many army units that the beret or braid in the appropriate weapon color may only be worn after the vow or the oath of service has been taken.

literature

  • Markus Euskirchen: Military rituals. Analysis and criticism of an instrument of rule (= PapyRossa-Hochschulschriften. Vol. 59). PapyRossa-Verlag, Cologne 2005, ISBN 3-89438-329-1 (also: Berlin, FU, dissertation, 2004).
  • Sven Lange: The oath of the flag. The history of the oath obligation in the German military (= series of publications of the Scientific Forum for International Security eV (WIFIS). Vol. 19). 2nd, corrected edition. Edition Temmen, Bremen 2003, ISBN 3-86108-365-5 (also: Hamburg, University of the Federal Armed Forces, dissertation, 2001).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. § 9 of the Soldiers Act