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Farewell after 16 years: Here you can see the big tattoo for Angela Merkel
At the end of her 16-year term as Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel is bid farewell to the Bundeswehr with the big tattoo in front of the Berlin office of the Federal Ministry of Defense. Watch the event live here.
At the end of her 16-year term as Federal Chancellor, Angela Merkel (CDU) will be adopted by the Bundeswehr on Thursday evening with the big tattoo in front of the Berlin office of the Federal Ministry of Defense. The one-hour ceremony is the highest form of military homage to German soldiers. The ceremony has a long tradition in military history and may only be performed on very special occasions.
2G-plus at Merkel’s big tattoo
Of course, the corona pandemic forces an adaptation of the traditional ceremonial: The event takes place under 2G-plus conditions, the number of guests is limited, they must wear an FFP2 mask and, if possible, keep a minimum distance of 1.5 meters from each other . The origins of the Zapfenstreich go back to the days of the mercenaries in the 16th century. At that time, a troop leader in inns and taverns announced the beginning of the night’s rest with a stroke on the spigot of the drink barrels – hence the name “Zapfenstreich”. After that, the innkeepers were no longer allowed to serve the soldiers. Over the centuries this signal was musically enriched by playing the trumpet, flute and drum.
Merkel would like songs by Nina Hagen and Hildegard Knef
The ceremonial emerged in its current form in the early 19th century during the wars of liberation, when the ritual was supplemented by a short evening song and then also by a prayer. The big tattoo of the Bundeswehr today consists of the “luring” of the minstrels, the performance of the music corps and the mounted troops, a prayer and the national anthem. Personally selected pieces of music by the honoree are also played. Angela Merkel wanted the GDR hit “You forgot the color film” from Nina Hagen, as well as the chanson “For me it should rain red roses” by Hildegard Knef and the hymn “Great God, we praise you”. The sometimes unusual requests presented the military musicians with a difficult task: The pieces by Hagen and Knef were not in the music archive of the Bundeswehr orchestra, reported the Berlin “taz”, citing the conductor.
Criticism of military ceremonies
Merkel will also give a short speech at the Zapfenstreich. She is only the second woman to be honored by the Bundeswehr with a major tattoo. The first was Ursula von der Leyen when she left the Federal Minister of Defense in August 2019. 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.