In the face of adversities and the haunting inferno of history, choosing to buckle down and confront a commanding officer as a young recruit is an arduous decision. Even graver is the challenge when you’re the lone Jewish warrior in Germany’s army, navigating relationships with comrades who served under the Nazis during the horrendous World War II.
Michael Fürst, a Jewish recruit in the German Army in 1966, recalls the sharp lashes of anti-Semitic remarks he endured, slashing deep into his memory. Although Fürst is doubtful about the necessity for a multitude of military rabbis considering relatively few Jewish soldiers, he welcomes the inception of chaplaincy as a significant leap forward. Today, there are about 300 Jewish serving personnel in the Bundeswehr, Germany’s armed forces.
Contrarily, a 24-year-old German air force technician dubbed Johannes sees an intertwining collaboration between Jewish teachings and Bundeswehr’s ethos. Deciding his dual identity, he embraced his German and Jewish sides, underscoring a feeling many young Germans harbor about their nation’s military history.
Anne, a Jewish convert during her teens, staunchly intended to join the Bundeswehr. She poured over the founding values to craft persuasive arguments against any potential resistance. Despite the shocking reaction from her counterparts, Anne upheld her conviction to protect the tenets of human rights and democracy.
The past still materializes in pockets of the institution. Advanced into the digital age, anti-Semitic remarks surfed on secret online channels among soldiers in 2020. Moreover, appalling Nazi mementos were discovered in military barracks. It manifestly shows that the specter of anti-Semitism is far from being vanquished completely in the Bundeswehr.
In 2019, an accord between Germany’s Central Council of Jews and the Ministry of Defense introduced a Jewish chaplaincy into the Bundeswehr. This chaplaincy, catering to the religious and spiritual needs of Jewish serving personnel, marks a long overdue return; the Bundeswehr’s Jewish chaplaincy tradition discontinued post World War I only to revive now.
In 2021, Zsolt Balla, a native Hungarian Jew, stepped into the role of spiritual lead of the chaplaincy. His presence in the Bundeswehr underscores not only Germany’s attempts to make amends for its past but also its societal evolution concerning Jews. Throughout this process, a consensus emerges that the lingering past must not lead to paralysis and stagnation. Such developments could be vital in handling the anti-Semitism issue.
The Jews serving in the Bundeswehr today, aware of their unique identities, have been stalwart in the face of skepticism and derision. Interlacing their faith and duty, they sketch out a fitting narrative of defiance and resilience. Michael Fürst, pushing through the reprehensible flames of his captain’s Holocaust denial and proudly bearing his dual German and Jewish identity, embodies this very defiance.
Jewish chaplaincy, as a newly woven fabric of the Bundeswehr, could be key to building empathy within its ranks. It also forms pathways of dialogue and understanding for those unfamiliar with Judaism. Ultimately, the stories of Michael Fürst, Anne, Johannes and others are reminders that, despite challenges ahead, the Bundeswehr’s mantle can be taken up by unlikely hands. Together, these tales form the narrative of a new generation defining their roles in their nation’s defense regardless of their faith or historical baggage.
