Veterans of the Second World War. Veterans of the Wehrmacht do not grow old in soul

The losing Wehrmacht soldier and the winning fighter Soviet army- on different lines... fate

A few years ago, no one could have imagined that these life stories, these fates fit side by side on one newspaper page. The defeated soldier of the Wehrmacht and the victorious fighter of the Soviet Army. They are peers. And today, if you look at it, they are united by much more than then, in the flourishing 45th ... Old age, illnesses, and also - oddly enough - the past. Let and different sides front. Is there anything left that they, German and Russian, dream of in their eighty-five?

Joseph Moritz. photo: Alexandra Ilyina.

80 ROSES FROM SMOLENSK

“I saw how people live in Russia, I saw your old people who were looking for food in garbage cans. I understood that our help was just one drop on a hot stone. Of course, I was asked: “Why are you helping Russia? After all, you fought against her!” And then I remembered about the captivity and about those people who handed us former enemies, a piece of black bread…”

“I owe the fact that I am still alive to the Russians,” says Josef Moritz, smiling and flipping through an album of photographs. Almost all of his life is collected in them, most of the cards are connected with Russia.

But first things first. And Herr Sepp, as his relatives and friends call him, begins his story.

We are sitting in Moritz's house in the city of Hagen, this is North Rhine Festphalia, there is a terrace and a garden. Latest news he and his wife Magret learn from the tablet computer donated by their daughters for the anniversary, quickly find the necessary information on the Internet.

Sepp has come to terms with the 21st century. And even, one might say, made friends with him.

“I was called to the front when I was just 17 years old. The father left much earlier. I was sent to Poland. He was taken prisoner near Kaliningrad. Before my homeland, and I was born in East Prussia, there were some 80 kilometers ... ”

The memory almost did not preserve the terrible war memories. As if the black hole swallowed everything. Or maybe he just doesn't want to go back there...

The first bright flash is the Soviet camp.

Sepp learned Russian there.

Once, water was brought to their camp on a wagon to the kitchen. Sepp approached the horse and began to speak to her in his native language. The fact is that he was from a farm and had been managing livestock since childhood.

A Soviet officer came out of the kitchen and asked his name. "I did not understand. They brought an interpreter. And three days later they called me and took me to the stall to the horses - so I got the opportunity to ride them. If, for example, our doctor went to another camp, then I saddled my horse and we rode together. It was during these joint trips that I learned Russian. Probably, that kind commander saw a son in me, he treated me so well.

The Germans were transferred to Lithuania, from there to Brest. They worked in the quarry for a short time, then in the construction of streets. A blown-up bridge was being restored in Brest. “You know, this happened too - ordinary people came up and shared the last piece of bread. There was no malice or hatred ... We were the same beardless boys as their sons who had not come from the front. Probably thanks to these kind people I'm still alive."

In 1950, Sepp returned home - with one wooden suitcase and in wet clothes, got caught in the rain. At the station he was met only by a friend who had been released a few days earlier. Family, parents still had to be found. My father was also a prisoner for a long time, but with the British.

The community helped all those who returned and gave them some money. “I was offered to go to serve in the police, but I refused - in captivity we swore to each other that we would never take up arms again.”

There was nowhere to go and no one to go to.

“We were sent to a rehabilitation camp, where we were given free rations and we could sleep there. It was 50 pfennigs a day, but I didn't want to be a freeloader. A friend offered me a job with a farmer I knew, but I also refused - I didn’t want to work as a laborer, I dreamed of getting on my own feet. At the same time, I did not have a profession as such. Of course, apart from the ability to build and restore...”

When Zapp met his future wife Magret, he was already under thirty, she was only 10 years younger - but another generation, post-war, did not survive ...

By the time he met his fiancee, Sepp Moritz could already boast of a decent income as a bricklayer. 900 West German marks were then a lot of money.

And today, the elderly Magret sits next to her old husband, corrects him, if this or that name does not immediately come to mind, suggests the dates. “Without Zepp, I would have had a very hard time, I am happy that I have such a spouse!” she exclaims.

Life finally improved, the family moved to Magrete's homeland - to Hagen. Sepp worked at a power plant. Raised three daughters.

Until 1993, Josef Moritz did not speak another word in Russian.

But when their Hagen became the twin city of the Russian Smolensk, Russia again burst into the life of Herr Moritz.

Hotel “Russia”

He took a phrase book with him to Smolensk on his first visit, as he was not sure that he could even read the names of the streets. He was on his way to see his acquaintances from the work of the Society of the Commonwealth of Cities.

Why did he do this? There is just such an old non-healing wound is called nostalgia.

It was she who forced then, in the 90s, still cheerful German pensioners at their leisure to first talk about: a) the general high cost of life; b) pensions, insurance, German reunification, foreign tourist trips.

And only on the third - on the most important thing, when the hops hit the head - about Russia ...

“I settled in the Rossiya Hotel. I went out into the street, looked around and came back, shoved the phrasebook far away - everything was completely different. ”

The trip in 1993 was the beginning of that colossal activity, at the origins of which stood Sepp Moritz. “Our sister city society has organized charitable transfers from Hagen to you,” he explains very formally.

Simply put, huge trucks with things, products, equipment that were assembled by the same people as Sepp, simple people, reached out to post-perestroika Smolensk.

“When we brought the first cargo of humanitarian aid, we had to urgently deal with customs clearance,” says Sepp. - It took a long time, some parameters did not match, the papers were not drawn up very correctly - we did it for the first time! But your gentlemen officers did not want to hear anything, our truck was to be confiscated and sent to Moscow. FROM with great difficulty managed to avoid it. When all the formalities were finally settled, we found out that most of the products brought had deteriorated and had to be thrown away.”

Leafing through the album, Sepp talks about Russian old men raking garbage heaps in the garbage heaps. About the peaceful Smolensk roads that were not gouged by tanks. About the children of Chernobyl, whom he and his wife hosted at home.

A nation of winners. Oh mein goth!

“People often ask me: why am I doing this? After all, there are probably millionaires in Smolensk who, in principle, could also take care of these unfortunate people ... I don’t know who owes what to whom, I can only answer for myself!”

675 bags, 122 suitcases, 251 packages and 107 bags of clothes were sent to Smolensk over the years. 16 wheelchairs, 5 computers, you can list for a long time - the list is endless and also pinned to the documents: for each package delivered, Herr Sepp reports with truly German punctuality!

More than 200 people from Smolensk lived as guests in his family, in his house, someone for several weeks, someone for a couple of days. “Every time they bring us gifts, and every time we ask them not to do this.”

All the walls here are hung with photographs and paintings with views of the Smolensk region. Some of the souvenirs are especially expensive - this is a portrait of Sepp, painted by a Russian artist against the backdrop of the Assumption Cathedral in Smolensk. Right there in the living room is our coat of arms with a double-headed eagle.

Collected in a separate folder Thanksgiving letters, the governors of the Smolensk region and the mayors of the city have succeeded each other throughout all these years, but from each of them there is a letter for Mr. Moritz. One of the messages is especially valuable, it contains 80 autographs of his Russian friends, exactly the same of red roses he was sent from Smolensk for the previous anniversary.

In addition, the very first time - in the 44th, Josef Moritz visited Russia thirty more times.

“I was also in Russia,” his wife adds. But now Magret can no longer travel far, she walks with a rollator, a walker for the disabled, yet she is well over seventy, and in the Russian outback it will be difficult to move even with this device - Magret herself, alas, will not climb the stairs.

And go to long way It’s impossible for Zepp alone, although he is also quite strong: “I don’t want to leave my wife for a long time!”

Two monuments to Ivan Odarchenko

In the Soviet Union, everyone knew the name of this man. It was from Ivan Odarchenko that the sculptor Vuchetich sculpted the monument to the Liberator Warrior in Treptow Park. The one with the rescued girl in her arms.

Last year, 84-year-old Ivan Stepanovich had a chance to work as a model again. His bronze veteran will forever keep his little great-granddaughter on his knees on a stone bench in the Tambov Victory Park.

“Bronze, like a flame, doused, / With a girl saved in her arms, / A soldier stood on a granite pedestal, / So that glory would be remembered for centuries,” these poems were read by heart on May 9 in an ordinary Tambov school, where I also happened to study.

Of course, we knew that Ivan Odarchenko was a holder of the Order Patriotic War the first degree, the Red Banner of Labor, the medal "For Courage" - our fellow countryman.

Any of my peers of the late 80s, with their eyes closed, could easily mint out this illustrious biography. “I liberated Hungary, Austria, the Czech Republic, ended the war near Prague. After the victory, he continued to serve in the occupying forces in Berlin. In August 1947, on the Day of the Athlete, competitions of Soviet soldiers were held at the stadium in the Weissensee area. After the cross, the sculptor Yevgeny Vuchetich approached the beautiful, broad-shouldered Odarchenko and said that he wanted to sculpt the main monument of the war from him.

The rescued German girl was portrayed by the daughter of the commandant of Berlin, Sveta Kotikova.

From the plaster model created by Vuchetich, a twelve-meter bronze monument was cast in the USSR, transported in parts to Berlin, and on May 8, 1949, the Grand opening memorial.

The usual boyish LJ, year 2011, wolfik1712.livejournal.com.

The day was overcast. Even somehow unusual. My friends and I were going to Victory Park. We took pictures next to the fountain, cannons and other equipment. But that's not what we're talking about right now...

And about who we saw. We saw the front-line soldier Ivan Stepanovich Odarchenko, of course, this name does not mean something to everyone.

I'm the only one who recognized him. In general, we managed to take a picture with him and with his monument.

Our photos with Hero Soviet Union Ivan Odarchenko. By the way, very good man. I am grateful to all the soldiers who fought for our freedom!

Forgive the teenager that he mixed up Odarchenko's awards - he was not a Hero of the Soviet Union, he ended the war too young. But what does Ivan Stepanovich himself think about the current life?

And I called him at home.

Ivan Odarchenko.

“We are expecting a girl by September!”

“Dad just got out of the hospital, he was there as planned, alas, his eyesight is failing, his health is not getting stronger, and age is making itself felt, and now he is lying,” says Elena Ivanovna, the daughter of a veteran. - And before, it used to be that I didn’t sit still for a minute, planted a garden, laid out our brick house with my own hands, while my mother was alive, everything worked. And now, of course, the years are not the same ... To be honest, I don’t even have the strength to communicate with journalists, he will talk about his youth, as he recalls - and in the evening his heart is bad.

Unexpected fame fell on Odarchenko on the 20th anniversary of the Victory. It was then that it became known that he was the prototype of the famous Liberator Warrior.

“Since then, we have not been given peace. Seven times I went to the GDR as an honored guest, with my mother, with me, the last one was already in the delegation. I learned his story about the construction of the monument by heart, but I have been in it since childhood - I myself am already 52.

Worked simple master at the enterprise - first at Revtrud, the Revolutionary Labor plant, then at the plain bearing plant. Raised a son and a daughter. He married his granddaughter.

- I can’t complain, but unlike many veterans, our dad lives well, he has two rooms in his house, and a decent pension, about thirty thousand plus in old age, the authorities don’t forget about us. Still, he is a famous person, how many more of these are left in Russia? Ivan Stepanovich is even a member of “ United Russia”, the daughter is proud.

And last year, they unexpectedly pulled me out of the hospital in February. It turned out that on the anniversary of the Victory, you again need to become a prototype - and again yourself, now an old veteran. Order bar on a civilian jacket. And there is no former youthful article. Wearily sat down on the bench, and does not stand with the sword of Alexander Nevsky.

Only the girl in her arms seemed to have not changed at all.

It looks very similar, I think! Elena Ivanovna is convinced. “You can’t get to Berlin now, but dad loves to walk in this park, he’s not far from us - he sits on a bench next to himself and thinks about something ...

Is there anything left to dream about? The woman was silent for a second. - Yes, to be honest, everything came true for him. Nothing to complain about. He happy man! Well, I probably want nothing to hurt until September, my daughter, his granddaughter, is just about to give birth - we are waiting for a girl!

Back - East

For the last two years, I have suddenly started noticing something strange. Nameless May old men, crawling out of their winter apartments just before Victory Day, thundering orders and medals on stairwells and in the subway, festive, ceremonial, they are no more. It's just time.

Rarely, rarely do you meet someone on the street ...

Age saved them from the Kursk Bulge and the Battle of Stalingrad, the boys of the 44th and 45th years of conscription, today they are the last of the remaining ...

Instead of them - "Thank you grandfather for the victory!", Sweeping inscriptions on the rear windows of the car and St. George ribbons on the antennas.

“There are so few of us that the government can probably afford to treat everyone like a human being, Putin and Medvedev regularly promise this,” says 89-year-old Yuri Ivanovich. - Beautiful words are said before the sea holiday. That's just really nothing to be proud of. All our lives we have been building communism, we were like on the front line, we were malnourished, we could not afford an extra shirt, but we sincerely believed that one day we would wake up in a brighter future, that our feat was not in vain, so with this blind and unjustified faith we end our days.

Immediately after the anniversary of the Victory last year, 91-year-old Vera Konishcheva took her own life in the Omsk region. A participant in the Great Patriotic War, a disabled person of the first group, she huddled all her life in a village house without gas, light and water, until the last she hoped that, according to the president, she would be given a comfortable apartment, at least some! In the end, she could not stand the mocking promises, she died a terrible death after drinking vinegar and leaving behind a note: “I don’t want to be a burden.”

It cannot be said that German old people live much better than ours. Many people have their own problems. Some children help. Some people have small social pensions from the state, especially in the east, in the ex-GDR. But almost everyone here has their own home - while ours were building communism, the Germans were building their own housing, in which they met old age.

They say they have nothing to be proud of. That on this holiday “with tears in their eyes” they do not wear orders and medals.

On the other hand, these people do not expect anything. They completed their journey with dignity.

Many, like Josef Moritz from Hagen, managed to ask for forgiveness from the Russians, while ours often leave with resentment in their hearts.

And local German newspapers are increasingly publishing ads from funeral companies that are ready to inexpensively organize the funeral of a German veteran - to return his ashes to free Poland and the Czech Republic, to the Bug, Vistula and Oder, where his youth passed. The land is cheaper there.

Hagen — Tambov — Moscow

"The main German TV channel CDF showed the TV series Our Mothers, Our Fathers about the Second World War, which angered people in the countries of Eastern Europe. Poland was accused of anti-Semitism, the peoples of the USSR - of complicity with the Nazis and atrocities on their territory and the lands of Germany. The true victims of World War II Wehrmacht soldiers defending their homeland, soldiers who fought against Polish anti-Semitism and Soviet barbarism are presented.

Well, it seems that the EU needs its own version of history, which suits, first of all, the main country of the large European Union - Germany. Satellites like Greece or Cyprus should not be allowed to throw in the face a reminder of a recent bloody past. This threatens the existence of the legitimacy of German domination.

History has long been tried to be used as the wheel of a propaganda machine. It is doubtful that SS marches in the Baltics would be possible without the blessing of the "elder brothers" in the European Union. The Germans themselves cannot yet afford this, but the format of the feature tape seems to have been chosen as optimal for the formation public opinion.

After watching - thanks to the Internet! - you understand that the film aims to achieve several goals: the rehabilitation of the Germans who fought in World War II, the instillation of an inferiority complex in the new EU members, in particular Poland, as well as the portrayal of the victims of fascism - the peoples of the USSR, as a stupid biomass hostile to European civilization.

The latter task is simplified by the fact that during the years of the Cold War the image of the Soviet barbarian was successfully formed in the minds of the layman. Therefore, it is only necessary to toss another myth so that the Europeans clearly see the threat from the East.

What myth? The most accessible, already voiced by European historians more than once: rape German women Soviet soldiers. The figure has been named: over two million German women.

Tens of thousands of children born to Soviet soldiers are often cited as evidence. To the question of how this could happen, there is a legitimate answer: they were raped. Let's leave for now stories about supposedly raped German women. Where did children come from? More on that below.

Let's get back to the movie. Frames flicker. Soviet soldiers break into a German hospital. Cold-bloodedly, in passing, they finish off the wounded. They grab a nurse and immediately try to rape German soldiers among the dead bodies. Such is the modern reading of history.

In general, a film shot, as it were, through the eyes of German soldiers, those who see the horrors of the war imposed on them, can evoke sympathy. Clever, intelligent Germans are witnessing how Polish partisans are expelled from the detachment, almost to certain death, a refugee who turned out to be a Jew. Ukrainian punishers exterminate people in front of the taken aback Germans. Russian rapists kill and destroy every living thing in their path.

Such a picture appears before the European audience. The Germans are trying with their last strength to protect their homeland, read - European civilization. And of course, these people could not be to blame for starting the war. A certain top of the Wehrmacht is to blame, which the bulk of the German soldiers, according to the authors of the tape, did not support, and the wild Slavic tribes that forced Europe to defend themselves from them.

But are ordinary soldiers so innocent? So were they in opposition to their commanders? Let's take excerpts from the letters of soldiers from the Eastern Front:

“Only a Jew can be a Bolshevik; nothing better for these bloodsuckers if there is no one to stop them. Wherever you spit, there are only Jews around, whether in the city or in the countryside.”

“Some will be interested that there were theaters, operas and so on, there were even large buildings, but only for the rich, and the rich are bloodsuckers and their hangers-on.”

“Everyone who observes this gloomy poverty understands exactly what these Bolshevik animals wanted to bring to us, hardworking, pure and creative Germans. This is God's blessing! How fair that the Fuehrer is called to lead Europe!”

“I see the Fuhrer in front of me. He saved the enslaved and raped humanity, giving them again divine freedom and the blessing of a worthy existence. The true and deepest reason for this war is to restore the natural and godly order. This is a battle against slavery, against Bolshevik madness.”

“I am proud, extremely proud, that I can fight against this Bolshevik monster, again fighting the enemy against whom I fought to annihilate for difficult years wrestling in Germany. I am proud of the wounds I received in these battles, and I am proud of my new wounds and the medal that I now wear.”

“Our successes so far have been great, and we will not stop until we destroy the roots and branches of this infection, which will be a boon for European culture and humanity.”

“I am proud to belong to the German nation and to be in the ranks of our great army. Say hello to everyone at home. I am far away. Tell them that Germany is the most beautiful, cultured country in the entire world. Anyone should be happy to be a German and serve a Fuehrer like Adolf Hitler."

“For what it's worth, it's great that the Fuhrer saw the danger in time. The battle had to take place. Germany, what would happen to you if this stupid animal horde came to our native land? We all took an oath of allegiance to Adolf Hitler, and we must fulfill it for our own good, wherever we are.”

“Courage is courage inspired by spirituality. The stubbornness with which the Bolsheviks defended themselves in their pillboxes in Sevastopol is akin to some kind of animal instinct, and it would have been deep mistake consider it the result of Bolshevik beliefs or upbringing. The Russians have always been like this and, most likely, always will remain so.

As you can see, there is not a word of remorse. Around the Jewish Bolsheviks, who need to be destroyed. True, there is sincere amazement that there are theaters and large buildings here. And even the valor of warriors for them is bestial, inhuman. There is no reason not to trust these testimonies. It was written by those whom today they are trying to present as victims of the Second World War.

And yet, what about the raped German women? Surely this question will arise in the attentive reader. War is war, but were there mass rapes and bastards? Perhaps you should also look at the evidence.

The famous director Grigory Chukhrai recalled the entry of troops into Romania: “Under the influence of Russian vodka, they relaxed and admitted that they were hiding their daughter in the attic.” Soviet officers were indignant: “Who do you take us for? We are not fascists! “The hosts were ashamed, and soon a lean girl named Mariyka appeared at the table, who greedily began to eat. Then, having got used to it, she began to flirt and even ask us questions... By the end of the dinner, everyone was friendly and drank to "borotshaz" (friendship). Mariyka understood this toast too straightforwardly. When we went to bed, she appeared in my room in one undershirt. As a Soviet officer, I immediately realized that a provocation was being prepared. “They expect that I will be tempted by the charms of Mariyka, and they will raise a fuss. But I will not succumb to provocation,” I thought. Yes, and the charms of Mariyka did not appeal to me - I showed her the door.

On the next morning the hostess, placing food on the table, rattled the dishes. "Nervous. The provocation failed!“ I thought. I shared this thought with our Hungarian translator. He laughed.

This is not a provocation! You were shown a friendly disposition, but you neglected it. Now you are not considered a person in this house. You need to move to another apartment!

Why did they hide their daughter in the attic?

They were afraid of violence. We have accepted that a girl, before entering into marriage, with the approval of her parents, can experience intimacy with many men. We are told: they don’t buy a cat in a tied bag ... "

And here is the story of the mortar man N.A. Orlov, who was, to put it mildly, surprised by the behavior of German women in 1945. “Regarding violence against German women. It seems to me that some, when talking about such a phenomenon, “exaggerate” a little. I have a different kind of example. We went to some German city, settled in the houses. A "frau", about 45 years old, appears and asks for "herr commandant". They brought her to Marchenko. She declares that she is responsible for the quarter, and has gathered 20 German women for sexual (!!!) service to Russian soldiers. Marchenko German understood, and to the political officer Dolgoborodov, who was standing next to me, I translated the meaning of what the German woman said. The reaction of our officers was angry and obscene. The German woman was driven away, along with her "detachment" ready for service. In general, German obedience stunned us. They expected guerrilla warfare and sabotage from the Germans. But for this nation, order - "Ordnung" - is above all. If you are a winner, then they are “on their hind legs”, moreover, consciously and not under duress. That's the psychology...

Herr Commissar,” Frau Friedrich told me benevolently (I wore a leather jacket). We understand that soldiers have small needs. They are ready,” continued Frau Friedrich, “to give them a few younger women for ... I did not continue the conversation with Frau Friedrich.”

The front-line poet Boris Slutsky recalled: “It was not ethics at all that served as restraining motives, but the fear of infection, the fear of publicity, of pregnancy” ... “universal depravity covered and hid the special female depravity, made her invisible and shameful.”

And it was not at all the fear of syphilis that was the reason for the rather chaste behavior of the Soviet troops. Sergeant Alexander Rodin left notes after visiting a brothel, which happened after the end of the war. “... After leaving, a disgusting, shameful feeling of lies and falsehood arose, a picture of a woman’s obvious, frank pretense did not go out of my head ... on principles like “don’t give a kiss without love, but also with most of our soldiers with whom I had to talk ... Around the same days I had to talk with one beautiful Magyar woman (she knew Russian from somewhere). To her question, did I like it in Budapest, I answered that I liked it, only brothels are embarrassing. “But why?” the girl asked. Because it is unnatural, wild, - I explained: - a woman takes money and after that, immediately begins to “love!” The girl thought for a while, then nodded in agreement and said: “You are right: it is ugly to take money in advance.” .."

The difference in the mentality of Europeans and Soviet soldiers, as we see, is striking. So talking about mass rape, probably, should not be. If there were cases, they were either isolated, out of the ordinary, or they were quite free relations, which the Germans themselves allowed. Hence the offspring.

But all this, in fact, is not decisive. How irrelevant are the objections of the Poles to the television series. Who, after all, in Europe took into account the opinion of the Polish public. It was not the search for historical truth that guided the creators of the film, which, according to the European press, claims to be the main cinematic event of the year in Germany. Ideological stamps do not require thoughtful artistic solutions. Europe has not changed.

William Shearer once wrote that he had two liberal friends in Germany in the thirties. They both became rabid Nazis. So, is history repeating itself?"

Alexander Rzheshevsky. April 2013

The very word "veteran" in Germany has long been a taboo. Soldiers of World War II united in unions of former prisoners of war. Now soldiers of the Bundeswehr call themselves "veterans". However, the word has not caught on yet.

There are unions of veterans in almost all countries. And in Germany, after the defeat of Nazism in 1945, all traditions of honoring and perpetuating the memory of veterans broke off. In the words of Herfried Münkler, professor of political theory at Humboldt University, Germany is a "post-heroic society." If memory is commemorated in Germany, it is not heroes, but victims of the First and Second World Wars. At the same time, the Bundeswehr, within the framework of NATO and UN peacekeeping missions, participates in military operations abroad. Therefore, a discussion began among the military and politicians: who should be considered veterans?

Veterans of the Bundeswehr

After the war, until 1955, in Germany - both in East and West - there was no army at all. Veterans unions were banned. What is the glorification of heroism when the German soldiers participated in the criminal war of conquest? But even in the Bundeswehr, founded in 1955, no veteran traditions emerged during the Cold War. The functions of the army were limited to the defense of their own territory, there were no hostilities.

IN last years the Bundeswehr is involved in operations abroad, for example, in the former Yugoslavia, in Afghanistan. In total, according to estimates, about 300 thousand soldiers and officers completed such service. Until very recently, these operations were not even called "war" or "military operations" directly. It was about "assistance in establishing a peaceful order", humanitarian actions and other euphemisms.

Now decided to call a spade a spade. German Defense Minister Thomas de Maiziere brought the word "veteran" back into use last September. Speaking in the Bundestag, he said that "if there are veterans in other countries, then in Germany he has the right to talk about" veterans of the Bundeswehr "."

This discussion was unleashed by the soldiers themselves - those who returned from Afghanistan with wounds or mental trauma. In 2010 they founded the "Union of German Veterans". Critics say that the very term "veteran" is discredited by German history and therefore unacceptable.

But who is considered a "veteran"? Everyone who wore the uniform of the Bundeswehr for some time, or only those who served abroad? Or maybe only those who participated in real hostilities? The "Union of German Veterans" has already decided: whoever served abroad is a veteran.

Defense Minister Thomas de Maizière, for his part, is trying to avoid a split on the issue. Many military men believe that military service during the Cold War was also risky, so it would be wrong to assign the status of "veteran" exclusively to those who happened to sniff gunpowder in Afghanistan.

Will there be a Veteran's Day?

For soldiers of the Bundeswehr who have been in combat, special awards have been established - the Cross of Honor for Courage and the medal For Participation in Hostilities. However, many military officers believe that society does not appreciate their willingness to risk their lives. After all, decisions on participation in operations abroad are made by the Bundestag, that is, elected representatives of the people. Consequently, the soldiers also participate in dangerous operations at the will of the people. So why doesn't society give them the respect they deserve?

Now the possibility of establishing a special "Veteran's Day" is being discussed. This idea is also supported by the influential Union of Bundeswehr Servicemen, which unites about 200,000 active and retired military personnel. But there is also a proposal to honor on this day the work of not only soldiers, but also rescuers, police officers and employees of development aid organizations.

Secretary of Defense de Maizières is also considering establishing a special commissioner for veterans' affairs and, following the American example, special homes for veterans. But there is no increase in benefits for veterans. The Minister of Defense believes that in Germany the social security of active and retired soldiers is already at a fairly high level.

The materials of InoSMI contain only assessments of foreign media and do not reflect the position of the editors of InoSMI.

What was the attitude towards the participants of the war over the past 70 years? This is actually very difficult question. Firstly, everything depended on understanding how the participants in the war were participants in the crimes of the Nazi regime?

It is worth saying that, firstly, the veterans were "different"; secondly, attitudes toward them have changed over time.

About "different" veterans. The fact is that the armed forces of the Great German Reich (which never called itself the Third), or the Wehrmacht, actually consisted of four components - the ground forces, the navy, air Force and SS troops. Yes, it is not entirely correct to single out the latter as an independent type of armed forces - the formations of the SS troops fought exclusively on land fronts and were operationally subordinate to the command ground forces. However, they had special status, and in peacetime they were not subordinate to the main command of the ground forces, but directly to the Fuhrer of the German Reich and, according to the creators, were "an army of political soldiers to fight the internal enemy", so their separate consideration makes sense.

What was the attitude towards the participants of the war over the past 70 years? This is actually a very difficult question. Firstly, everything depended on understanding how the participants in the war were participants in the crimes of the Nazi regime? For example, the soldiers of the German Wehrmacht were justified by the fact that they were simply soldiers who carried out the orders of their commander in chief and fought within the framework of existing conventions and customs of war. All those crimes that became known in the course of Nuremberg Trials(there were several more besides the International Tribunal), they say, were committed by the SS troops or employees of the security agencies, and the army had nothing to do with them; moreover, the soldiers and officers did not know anything about the lawlessness being committed.

In part, this argument worked, but upon closer examination, it became clear that this was not true. Firstly, it was the army, represented by the General Staff, that was planning an aggressive war (responsibility for aggression against Norway lies with the command of the fleet). Secondly, the army command authorities themselves were the initiators and / or active executors of various criminal orders, such as the "order on jurisdiction in the East" (or the "order on commissars", according to which commissars, Jewish servicemen of the Red Army and members of the VKB (b) were to be shot without court on the spot). Thirdly, the crimes against humanity committed by the organs and formations of the SS and the security police were committed literally in front of the military personnel and, very often, with their assistance, only a few dared to resist them. All this was not immediately comprehended, but gradually the understanding that the army, perhaps, in addition to its desire, was an accomplice in the crime of the regime, was established.

Of course special treatment were awarded to the participants of the Resistance, around which arose, one might say, a whole cult. It is expressed in different ways, from printing runs of stamps with portraits of those who dared to oppose Hitler, to naming barracks and other Bundeswehr facilities after them.

To some extent, those who were known for their outstanding feats and were not known as fanatical Nazis deserved such honor. These are famous pilots, submariners, tankers, holders of the highest military awards of the country (they were allowed to wear, but the gamma cross was removed from them and replaced with an image of oak leaves). Adolf Galland, Erich Hartmann, Walter Krupinski, Johannes Steinhof, who served in the Bundeswehr after the war, enjoyed honor and respect both at home and among former opponents; around some of the legendary participants who died during the war (for example, the pilot Hans Marseille, who received the nickname "Star of Africa"), there was something like a posthumous veneration (a feature film was even made about him in 1955). Some of them - for example, frigate captain Reinhard Hardegen or Luftwaffe Major Erich Rudorffer (222 air victories) are still alive and enjoy the honor and respect of the citizens of their cities. So, Hardegen represented his native Bremen in the German federal parliament for more than 30 years.

Former members of the SS troops stand apart. The fact is that the SS, unlike the army, was recognized as a criminal organization. After the war and the creation of the Federal Republic of Germany, former SS men began to leave prisons and prisoner-of-war camps and began to make attempts - organized or not very well - to rehabilitate themselves in the eyes of citizens. Their arguments were the same as those of the military (see above) - they say they were "soldiers like everyone else" (this was the name of the absolutely apologetic memoirs of one of the creators of the SS troops Paul Hausser), the crimes were committed either by security agencies or concentration camp guards. But these arguments do not stand up to scrutiny. In addition to the fact that the SS troops were famous for their constant "excesses" in the treatment of prisoners of war (and these are war crimes) and civilians, they were involved as executors in the course of punitive actions against the regions covered by the partisan movement and in the "executions" of the Jewish population.

Volunteer (albeit with a fair amount of conventionality) divisions of the SS troops, recruited from European peoples, consisted of people who, before this service, were in various auxiliary formations, who at least carried out repressions against the civilian population (and in some cases were direct executors " final decision the Jewish Question"). In addition, the guards of the concentration camps, the so-called "detachments" Dead Head "", was at the very beginning of the war included in the SS troops and was involved as a replenishment of the front-line units - especially the division "Dead Head", but as well as other units.Some of the famous SS commanders in this sense, in principle, could not use this argument - some of them, for example, accompanied the Reichsführer SS Himmler on his inspection trips to the ghettos or death camps as adjutants and saw " execution" with my own eyes. And, most importantly, from the very moment of entering the SS, the cadets were instilled with the fact that human life, incl. their own, has no value, they are called to "sow dare and accept death"; and the enemies of the state and the race have no right to life.

Based on this, the attitude towards them in post-war Germany was initially wary (but, of course, among people who recalled the times of Hitler's domination with nostalgia, they enjoyed unconditional reverence). So, they were practically not accepted into the Bundeswehr (only one who was not seen in crimes, denazified and was by the end of the war in the rank of no higher than the SS-Hauptsturmführer could be considered a candidate), all the rest, despite any awards and merits, count on continuation of an officer career could not. But if, say, in the first 20 years, in general, the same rule applied to them as to the Hitlerite state and the war in general - yes, it was all terrible, but let's not stir up the past - then from the end of the 60s, especially with the beginning of trials against concentration camp guards and war criminals, as well as the trial against A. Eichmann in Jerusalem, the attitude towards SS veterans begins to change, and the discourse "soldiers like everyone else" becomes more and more marginal. In this sense, the fate of one of the most famous - probably due to his Aryan appearance - the commanders of the SS troops, Joachim Peiper, can be indicative.

Received a life sentence during the scandalous process (it was held with numerous violations) about mass murder American prisoners of war in Malmedy, after some time he was released, but he could not find his place in the new society and left the FRG. But there were exceptions - in this sense, the fate of the SS-Gruppenführer Heinz Reinefarth is unique. Before the war, he was a lawyer and a member of the SS (but not the SS troops, there was a certain difference); participated as a volunteer during the French campaign (non-commissioned officer of the ground forces, earned the Knight's Cross) and on the Eastern Front, was wounded and demobilized with the rank of lieutenant. Then he was promoted - due to his high rank in the general SS, he was transferred to the SS troops in the rank of general (such a career - from lieutenants to generals) and in this capacity was responsible for committing crimes during the suppression Warsaw Uprising 1944. Nevertheless, after the war, he not only was not held accountable (usually criminals who "marked" themselves in Poland or Yugoslavia were extradited to these countries and a noose was waiting for them there), he, after some time, became ... the mayor of the city of Westerland , and was 14 years old, after which he was a member of the regional parliament in Schleswig-Holstein. I think that the election of a mayor may in a certain way reflect the attitude of citizens towards him, but, I repeat, this case was absolutely unique.

The attitude towards veterans of the Second World War and participants in other hostilities is an indicator not only of the economic state of the state, but also of less material things. First of all, how the country and its authorities treat their citizens.

In Russia, according to the data of the Ministry of Labor as of April 2017, there are about 1.8 million disabled people and veterans of the Second World War. Also in Russia, pensions and benefits are paid to 1.28 million home front workers, 125.8 thousand former juvenile prisoners of fascism, 22.4 thousand widows of the disabled and participants in World War II. Another 113.5 thousand people are residents of besieged Leningrad.

According to the Ministry of Labor, in 2016 the average size Great Patriotic War veterans' pensions ranged from 16,500 rubles (slightly less than $300) for home front workers to 31,600 rubles ($550) for combatants with disabilities.

How do these payments compare with those received by veterans abroad?

Germany

For veterans of the Wehrmacht, the German state provided a comfortable old age and high level social protection. Depending on the rank and merit, the size of the pension of veterans who fought in World War II ranges from $1,600 to $9,000. For example, a junior officer's pension is $2,700. About 440 are charged to the widows of the dead.

Payments are guaranteed to persons of German origin who served in the German army and "fulfilled the statutory military service in accordance with the rule of its passage until May 9, 1945".

Veterans can count on free two-time hospitalization during the year, and, if we are talking about prisoners of war, the number of hospitalizations is unlimited. The government also pays partly former soldiers Wehrmacht visiting places where they fought, including abroad.

Red Army veterans living in Germany are also entitled to a pension of $440-550 per month. They are also entitled to social security by age.

Great Britain

In Great Britain state support veterans is handled by a division of the Department of Defense - the Agency for the Affairs of the military and veterans (Veterans UK). Veterans of World War II receive the same social assistance, as well as those who fought in other military conflicts in which Great Britain participated. In particular, all disabled combat veterans and their widows are covered by the so-called Armed Forces and Reserve Compensation Scheme (AFCS), which came into effect in April 2005.

Any Briton who suffered during the war is entitled to a pension. The amount of a veteran's pension in the UK directly depends on military rank and severity of injuries. Monthly payments range from $2,200 to $10,000. If there is a need, the state additionally pays a nurse to the veteran.

USA

In the USA questions social security Veterans are handled by a special department established back in 1930 (in 1989 it received the status of a ministry). It is a comprehensive veterans care system with 152 hospitals, 800 clinics and 126 home care units. Medical service American veterans are provided free of charge. In total, about 280 thousand people work in the structure of the department - only the Pentagon has a larger staff.

Benefits for veterans of all military conflicts in which the United States has been involved include disability compensation, special pension supplements, insurance, and funeral expenses.

According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, by 2016 there were only 697,800 World War II veterans left in the United States. To the pension, which averages $1,500, veterans are entitled to a $1,200 supplement.

In total, about $ 7 billion is spent annually from the US budget on compensation for relatives of veterans of World War II, wars in Korea, Vietnam, Kuwait, Iraq and Afghanistan.

France

French veterans have their own department - their problems are dealt with by the Ministry for Ex-Servicemen and Victims of War. The average pension through this department (without supplements and assistance from specialized associations) is $1,400. But in addition to this, World War II veterans receive an annual payment of $770.

The subject of special pride of France is the House of Invalids, which has a long history. It is both a hall of military glory and a hospital. Veterans who need care can live here permanently.

Israel

WWII veterans in Israel receive monthly allowance- about 1500 dollars. At the same time, people who were in concentration camps and ghettos during the war were also equated with World War II veterans in 2007 and received the same benefits. In addition to pensions, once a year, former prisoners of Nazism are paid $300 for rehabilitation. Veterans also get financial assistance from various non-state funds.

Veterans of the Israel Defense Forces are paid separate pension in the amount of 1700 dollars. The same is due to citizens who have suffered in terrorist acts. Veterans of all wars in Israel are exempt from paying municipal tax, they receive significant discounts on utility bills, an annual allowance of 35% of the average wages in the country (in 2016 it was $875), a 10% surcharge on rent allowance, a 75% discount on medicines.