Dangerous missions such as in Afghanistan or Mali are increasingly having lasting consequences among the soldiers of the Bundeswehr.
They don't put away concrete experiences of war and violence that easily.
Berlin - More and more soldiers in the Bundeswehr are being treated for mission-related psychological problems.
This is shown by the defense ministry's response to a request from the left-wing parliamentary group, which the German press agency has received and which was initially reported by the editorial network Germany.
According to this, 602 traumatized soldiers received psychiatric treatment in 2013 - in 2019 there were already 1006 and in 2020 already 1116 emergency services.
For the first five months of this year, the ministry gives the number as 762.
The number of mental disorders diagnosed for the first time and probably resulting from the mission also rose from 274 in 2017 to 301 in 2020. However, it was several times higher in previous years, for example in 2011 with 389 first diagnoses.
The defense expert of the left-wing parliamentary group, Matthias Höhn, called on the federal government and the Bundestag to carefully weigh the long-term consequences of dangerous missions such as in Afghanistan or Mali. "We need a broad debate in politics and society as to how we should deal with the increasing number of sick soldiers," he told the editorial network in Germany. Those affected need hearing, visibility and help. "Above all, they have the right to the Federal Government and the Bundestag carefully reviewing the purpose of deployments abroad."
The Bundeswehr ended its engagement in Afghanistan a few weeks ago. The soldiers are still on duty in Mali. In June, 12 German soldiers and one Belgian soldier were injured in a suicide attack on a German blue helmet patrol. The Bundeswehr is currently involved in a total of eleven missions abroad. dpa