However long I may have been away from Blighty, I have not yet lost that sense of mourning and respect that is evoked by sombre scenes of veteran service men and women marching or being wheeled along to lay wreaths at war memorials on 11th November each year. The royals and politicians, dressed in black, the solemn tones of military bands playing Eternal Father, strong to save, and above all, the poppy, the emblem of remembrance, worn by everybody, it seems these days, even Felix Baumgartner on the Graham Norton show.
Here in Bavaria, the 11th of the 11th means something completely different. It marks the start of Fasching, or the carnival season. Today we have been out and about, and the radio stations have been ablaze with 'party' music (more of the same tired 80s numbers, if you ask me) and presenters exhorting us to get in the mood and celebrate. It was all so at odds with my own thoughts. Tempting, I found, to see it all as vastly disrespectful, until one remembers that it isn't meant that way, and the Germans have another day to mark their own war victims. Indeed they do, but it cannot be compared with that of the UK. Sadly, this reflects what I see as a general lack of respect for the German forces, who, although might not be as near to the action as other nations, are still putting their lives at risk and doing a great job. I often hear people making jokes about the Bundeswehr. Even the soldiers themselves affect a rather non-German self-deprecatory attitude towards their job. I think this is sad, and ask myself why it is so. Could it be rooted in the years of compulsory national service, or is it founded deeper, in Germany's aversion to military pride as a long-lasting result of the two World Wars?
Over the twelve years I have been in this great country, I have witnessed a visible change in the way Germans address their sense of nationality. One of the most telling arenas is the international football tournaments. Fans will nowadays bellow out their National Anthem with pride, rather than the timid mutterings I saw during the European Championship of 2000. I hope to see this new-found confidence extend to the way soldiers, sailors and air men and women are regarded in Germany. What has past is past, but there is still work to be done, and most of us would not care to swap places with any of them. Let us salute every one of them, and in the same way that we have World Poetry, Pasta or Grandparent Day, perhaps add the Armed Forces - wherever they come from.
