Solemn oath 2015
Approximately 400 recruits of the German Armed Forces took their oath of allegiance at a formal ceremony on Monday, July 20.
The soldiers who took the oath came from the Guard Battalion at the Federal Ministry of Defense in Berlin, the 1st Medical Regiment in Weißenfels, the 172nd Logistics Battalion in Beelitz, the 171st Logistics Battalion in Burg, the 383rd Command Support Battalion in Erfurt, the Naval Operations School in Bremerhaven, the Air Force Training Battalion in Germersheim, and the 610th Signal Battalion in Prenzlau.
The soldiers publicly pledged, before family and friends, superiors and comrades, and live cameras, to “faithfully serve the Federal Republic of Germany and bravely defend the rights and freedoms of the German people.” With this annual ceremony commemorating the anniversary of the assassination attempt on Adolf Hitler on July 20, 1944, the German Armed Forces (Bundeswehr) underscores its understanding of tradition. This tradition forms the basis of the concept of "Innere Führung" (Leadership Development and Civic Education) and the guiding principles for all soldiers of the Bundeswehr as citizens in uniform.
The oath of enlistment will be administered by the Federal Minister of Defence, Ursula von der Leyen. Former Federal Minister and Mayor of Hamburg, Klaus von Dohnanyi, will address the young soldiers as a guest of honor. His father, Hans von Dohnanyi, was executed shortly before the end of the war in 1945 for his resistance against National Socialism.
The Staff Band of the Bundeswehr, under the direction of Lieutenant Colonel Reinhard Martin Kiauka, will provide musical accompaniment for the ceremony.
-- Federal Ministry of Defence Press and Information Staff --