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ofClaudia Kabel
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shut down
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Since 1954 the association on the right has maintained the tradition of the Infantry Regiment 115 Darmstadt. But at the end of the year it should be dissolved.
When comradeships, war clubs and veterans ‘associations were re-admitted in Germany in 1954, the comradeship of the bodyguards and the 115 Infantry Regiment in Darmstadt resumed their work, as can be read in the members’ magazine “Der Leibgardist 1621”. The Lord Mayor of Darmstadt at the time, Ludwig Engel (SPD), sent “best regards” and warmly welcomed the association to the city. Since then, the comradeship has enjoyed recognition from local political celebrities and representatives of the Bundeswehr, as Peter Friedl from the Darmstadt group of the German Peace Society – United War Resisters said in his speech on Memorial Day 2020 at the Bodyguard Monument in Darmstadt.
The Peace Society has dealt with comradeship and its activities and has also evaluated the publications of its newsletter since 1957. The association “positions itself socio-politically on the extreme right,” said Friedl. This is shown, among other things, by the article “Ten language commandments for ‘brave’ Germans” in issue 1/1998. It says “Germans who protest against mass immigration and foreign infiltration are ‘xenophobes’. Germans who demand that German politicians protect German interests are ‘right-wing radicals’ ”.
Above all, senior military officers of the Nazi era were repeatedly honored without any critical reflection, said Friedl. There would be, for example, NSDAP member and Reich judge Ernst Pabst, General of the Waffen SS Maximilian von Herff or Colonel General of the Waffen SS Karl Wolff.
In comradeship, however, one speaks of honoring veterans. Chairman Helmut Weipert even criticizes a lack of awareness of tradition in the Bundeswehr today: “What kind of society have we become if we want to rename Hindenburgring and Bismarckallee?” He asks. Weipert is resigned to the fact that the city of Darmstadt has also refused a joint commemoration on the day of national mourning.
Now the comradeship has to be dissolved at the end of the year. That was decided by the general assembly. The reason is that you can’t find any more offspring. “We have had freedom for 75 years, but people don’t know what it’s worth and are not interested in it,” says Weipert. At 80, he is the youngest of the remaining 60 members.
You can read more about the dispute over the guardsman monument in Darmstadt in the article “Darmstadt: Dispute over commemorating the fallen”
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