As of: 03/28/2023 9:28 p.m
With a big tattoo, the resigned Defense Minister Lambrecht was dismissed from office. Among other things, she wished for the music “Never goes so completely” by Trude Herr.
The Bundeswehr dismissed former Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht from office with a big tattoo. Soldiers gathered for the ceremony on the Ministry’s premises in Berlin. Lambrecht’s successor Boris Pistorius had invited to honor her achievements as a minister, as the Ministry of Defense announced.
The approximately one-hour ceremony is the highest form of military honoring of German soldiers. It may only be performed on very special occasions and follows a set sequence of musical elements and military ceremony. After sunset, the Defense Ministry’s guard battalion and a staff band marched with torches in the courtyard of the military department.
After sunset, soldiers marched up with torches
Image: dpa
The so-called serenade is a part of the ceremony – i.e. a musical performance for which the honoree can choose pieces of music himself. Lambrecht wished for the hit “Never goes so completely” by the Cologne singer Trude Herr, the “Hessian Flag March” and the “March of the Hessian District Regiment and the Landgraf Regiment”.
Much criticism during tenure
The SPD politician announced her resignation in mid-January after just over 13 months in office. This was preceded by massive criticism of her administration and a rapid loss of reputation in public. Most recently, a video message from the minister at the turn of the year, which was criticized as an accident, caused indignation.
Lambrecht is only the fourth woman to be honored by the Bundeswehr with a large tattoo. Before her, this honor was bestowed on Defense Ministers Ursula von der Leyen and Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer as well as Chancellor Angela Merkel. Critics of the Great Tattoo see the military ceremony in the direct tradition of Prussian parades and Hitler’s torchlight procession and speak of a symbol of Prussian and German militarism.