When Pistorius visits
Confusion about TV images: what a knight was doing in the Bundeswehr in Lithuania
Lithuania: A man in knight’s gear walks through the picture during a ZDF interview for the “Heute” news.
© Screenshot: ZDF
Soldiers, tanks, modern combat equipment and right in the middle: a knight. During a visit to Lithuania by Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, a man in knight’s garb suddenly walked through the picture. The explanation for the bizarre incident is simple.
well? Didn’t a knight just walk through the background? Many viewers who watched the ZDF news program “Heute” on Monday evening should have asked themselves that.
The article was about the visit of the Secretary of Defense Boris Pistorius (SPD) with the Bundeswehr in Lithuania. Brigadier General Christian Nawrat told the ZDF camera team how the news was received that soon 4,000 additional Bundeswehr soldiers would be stationed in Lithuania. A man in knight’s garb marched through the picture behind him. In full gear: chain mail, cape, helmet, sword – everything included. The man seemed slightly disoriented and should have triggered similar feelings in many viewers.
Lithuania visit: Knight sits with Pistorius on the stands
Photos also show the knight sitting in a tent on a stage, a few rows behind Pistorius, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. RTL reporter Thomas Berding was there during Pistorius’ visit to Lithuania and reports: “I’ve been to a lot of Bundeswehr combat exercises, but I’ve never seen a knight there. That was very, very bizarre, especially in this environment with all the tanks and generals.”
The bizarre appearance on the social networks caused all kinds of laughter over the course of Tuesday:
But what is it all about?
The explanation is quite simple: the Lithuanian coat of arms is adorned with a knight and a horse. The historical figure is to Lithuania what the federal eagle is to Germany. That’s why there is always someone in a knight’s costume on military occasions – for example when medals are awarded. But that was probably not immediately clear to many people on site. RTL reporter Berding reports that the Bundeswehr itself did not initially know exactly what the costumed man was all about. “They first had to research it, and it took a while before they got any information.”
You can watch the entire ZDF program here.