Military farewell ceremony
March with torches in Berlin – that is why the Zapfenstreich is controversial
In mid-October, the Bundeswehr’s Afghanistan mission was honored with a big tattoo in Berlin. The ceremony is considered a special honor for the Bundeswehr
© Christophe Gateau / dpa
When the Bundeswehr says goodbye to Chancellor Angela Merkel in the evening with the big tattoo, it also arouses queasy associations. But what is actually behind this ritual?
“Now it’s a Zapfenstreich” – as a child, pretty much everyone heard the saying from their parents. Translated it means: “Off to bed.”
This almost explains the original meaning of the word. Because once soldiers were sent to bed with a tattoo – and above all, they were prevented from drinking more alcohol. The men should be fit and ready to fight the next day.
The Zapfenstreich is just one of many terms that have found their way from military jargon into everyday German, as an exhibition at the Military History Museum of the Bundeswehr in Dresden vividly explains. We have been using this term for almost half a millennium.
In the past, mercenaries were sent out of the pub by tattoo
It has its origins in the 16th century. At that time, as the Bundeswehr itself explains, for example, a custom developed. It was a time when armies in Europe consisted partly of mercenaries, that is, mercenaries fighting on foot. Their superiors stopped serving alcohol in the inns in the evening by drawing chalk lines on the cones, i.e. the taps of the beer and wine barrels. The markings signaled: From now on, alcohol will no longer be sold or drunk. In some explanations of the tradition it is also said that the chiefs of the troops struck the tenons with their sabers – as an audible signal of this “curfew”.
From this practice, acoustic – especially musical – signals developed over the centuries, which are still used today in armies around the world to ring in the night’s rest, including in the Bundeswehr.
At the same time, there were military farewell ceremonies that, apart from the name, had nothing to do with the soldiers’ sleep from historical times. So the big tattoo of the Bundeswehr has a long history.
It is probably the most famous ceremony of the Bundeswehr. The process is strictly defined, it lasts about an hour, may only be held on very special occasions and is the highest form of military honor.
Big tattoo only for very festive occasions
So the big tattoo doesn’t happen very often – it’s reserved for anniversaries or important occasions. The returnees to Afghanistan, for example, were honored with it this autumn in front of the Reichstag building in Berlin. Outgoing federal presidents and defense ministers get their tattoo – and federal chancellors, like Angela Merkel this Thursday evening.
For a big tattoo it has to be dark – because the lighting of torches is an essential part of it. But above all the torches in Berlin at night arouse the association with National Socialism among critics of the ceremony. Because the Nazis were known for pompous and terrifying symbolism with fire and large marches.
It is actually the case that the Wehrmacht organized the Great Zapfenstreich under National Socialism – however, the Nazis also continued a military tradition that already existed in Prussia and during the imperial era and that has not been questioned for centuries. The military symbolism was probably very convenient for the Hitler regime. Images of mass marches during the Nazi dictatorship have burned themselves into the collective memory to this day.
In the young Federal Republic, criticism of military rituals grew
No wonder that after 1945 the great tattoo came under fire – although the Bundeswehr today explicitly claims that the current ceremony was held in the early 19th century – at the time of the Wars of Liberation, when many countries in Europe wanted to shake off Napoleon’s rule.
After the Second World War, anti-militarism took off in Germany – from criticism of the rearmament in Germany to the student protests of the 1960s. The role of the Bundeswehr was questioned and with it its rituals.
But the great tattoo is also defended by many politicians – they see it as a signal of respect for the army, which is now being sent on dangerous missions around the world. And they emphasize that the Bundeswehr is a parliamentary army, so it can only be sent into operations by the representatives of the people.
Angela Merkel wanted a hit from Nina Hagen
On this evening, the outgoing Chancellor Merkel will be honored with the big tattoo – and the process will, as always, be strictly ritualized and very solemn. The number of soldiers involved – including 74 torchbearers – is regulated in detail. The “lure” of the minstrels is followed by the appearance of the music corps and the mounted troops, then the prayer and the national anthem. Merkel was also allowed to choose music to be played when she said goodbye. Among other things, she decided on a GDR hit “You forgot the color film” by Nina Hagen. So there is a little bit of punk going on at the Big Zap that evening.
Sources: Bundeswehr.de, “Welt.de“, Military history museum of the Bundeswehr
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