In the Federal Republic of Germany, the military only plays a subordinate, neglected role. Therefore, relevant terms also disappear. The word barras, for example, from which conscripts struggled to escape until a few decades ago.
Barras
An editorial by the SZ recently said that the world of the military in Germany is as far removed from the worlds of many milieus as never before. There has never been such a non-military German state as the Federal Republic. In this wake, a word disappears that was an integral part of everyday language until the abolition of compulsory military service (2011). There is hardly a young man who was not asked at the time: “Have you been to the Barras?” And if an adolescent was messy, they would say, “At the Barras, they’ll bring you tidy.” The origin of the word Barras is not entirely clear. It has been used to describe the army and the military for a good 150 years, and it was primarily a synonym for the Wehrmacht. But even during the days of the armed forces, people still spoke of the barras. To be called up for conscription meant: I have to go to the Barras. One theory has it that the word derives from the glamorous French statesman Paul de Barras (1755-1829). At that time the soldiers were still recruited with bonuses. So you hired yourself at the Barras. Another explanation is a derivation from Yiddish: there, “baras” refers to a type of flatbread that served as food for the soldiers.
Comp
Erpfl, a synonym for potato, has been chosen as the Upper Franconian word of the year 2021. Because of the weakening of the unstressed ancillary syllables, the three-syllable earth-apple became the monosyllable Erpfl. The potato is still common in southern Bavaria. In Lower Franconia the potato is called Grumbrö (Grundbirne), in Swabia they say Grundbir (Grumbbra), Erdbir and Bodenbir. Grundbirnen are also available in the Rupertiwinkel, north of Nuremberg they are called Potacken, north of Ingolstadt even Bumser.