Thoughts on war: National Remembrance Day in Germany on 16/11/2025 (Published on 16/11/2025)
Today is the German Remembrance Day. With astonishment and bewilderment, many people are witnessing the renewed efforts of Germany’s political leaders to rearm and rebuild the country’s military, which has repeatedly plunged this country and the world into ruin and was never to be repeated. After all, we had become smarter and learned our lesson.
Not before the last people who experienced the suffering of war firsthand have passed away is the alleged need to protect “Volk” and the “Heimat” suddenly proclaimed once again—two terms that many political protagonists have considered rather disreputable for years and have avoided using at all costs. Now, once again, the German population is being led to believe that it is necessary to rearm at least “as a deterrent”. The aim is to “prepare for defense,” but only “in case of emergency,” of course.
Anyone familiar with recent German history cannot fail to see the writing on the wall. It is time to say “No!”
Instead of the political speeches often given today, with their linguistically opportunistic tone appropriate to the times, here is a short text from a book published in 1995 by Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge e.V. [the German War Graves Commission], which very aptly describes the significance of Remembrance Day (source: Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge e.V., Wir gedenken – Reden zum Volkstrauertag 1951 – 1995 [“We remember – Speeches on Remembrance Day 1951 – 1995”], p. 2 [translation from German language]):
Honoring the Dead
Today we remember
the victims of violence and war, children, women, and men of all nations.
We commemorate
the soldiers who died in the world wars, the people who lost their lives through acts of war or afterwards in captivity, as displaced persons and refugees.
We remember those
who were persecuted and killed because they belonged to a different people, were considered to be of a different race, or whose lives were deemed unworthy of living because of an illness or disability.
We remember those
who lost their lives because they resisted tyranny, and those who died because they held fast to their convictions or their faith.
We mourn
the victims of the wars and civil wars of our time, the victims of terrorism and political persecution, the victims of senseless violence who sought refuge with us.
We mourn
with the mothers and with all those who grieve for the dead. But our lives are marked by hope for reconciliation among people and nations, and our responsibility is to promote peace among people at home and in the world.
From the perspective of victims of war and tyranny, this can be summed up in the appeal that is often found in German military cemeteries:
“Unser Opfer ist Eure Verpflichtung: Frieden!”
[“Our sacrifice is your obligation: peace!”]
(Head picture: Memorial stone at the
German military cemetery Ittenbach near Königswinter, August 2025)
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