Mittenwald veterans on their commemoration: "A day for those who died so that we can live"

Commemoration of the fallen is increasingly being forgotten: Mittenwald's veteran boss Georg Jungkunz therefore strikes a pensive note on the anniversary.

The question: Do we still need the Veteran's Anniversary?

Mittenwald

- “What do you actually do on the Veteran's Day?” Why do men get up early in the morning, march, lay wreaths, pause at church services and speeches? “Do you still need it?” Georg Jungkunz was confronted with these questions. War has disappeared from the scene. Or at least not ubiquitous as it was over seven decades ago. You only know him from the media. Those who grow up in peacetime are spoiled - fortunately. Only one participant in the World War is still a member of the Mittenwald Veterans. “Yes, what do you need the anniversary for then?” Asks Jungkunz rhetorically.

He stands in front of the war memorial next to the Mittenwald parish church of St. Peter and Paul. It was a few degrees above zero this Saturday morning. The flags of the local associations form a semicircle around him and the monument, which commemorates the millions who died in the two world wars. “Your sacrifice urges peace,” it says. Words that have lost none of their topicality for Jungkunz. "Since the Bundeswehr was founded in 1955, 3,300 members of the Bundeswehr have been on duty and have perished in so-called 'peace operations'," he recalls. He consciously emphasizes that he puts the term peace operations in quotation marks. “They are war missions.” 115 German soldiers were killed in action. The highest blood toll to date was demanded by the one in Afghanistan, which ended unsuccessfully after 20 years.For Jungkunz, these are not just numbers. Behind everyone there is a fate, a family, bereaved. “We remember all those who died, fallen and missing comrades today. That is why we need the anniversary. It is a day for those who died to live. "

But commemoration is no longer a matter of course. Fewer and fewer people are interested in it, he sums up. Last but not least, this shows him the number of municipal councilors who stayed away. "Despite being invited, 13 did not even think it necessary to give a brief notice that they were not coming." An increasing problem.

The two mayors Enrico Corongiu (SPD) and Georg Seitz (Free Voters) also stayed away from the meeting. Corongiu only went to church and attended the laying of the wreath. Third Mayor Gerhard Schöner (CSU) regretted the lack of interest on the part of the elected representatives. “We must and should remember this. That is why the association urgently needs to be upheld. ”But Jungkunz also knows that the fight against forgetting is becoming more and more arduous. “Therefore, the question arises why the Veterans Anniversary still exists, not at all,” says Schöner.

The chairman is all the more pleased that his management team will remain by his side for another three years.

This was unanimously confirmed in office.

The association only had to say goodbye to Gerhard Praxl, who had been a cash auditor for many years, in May this year.

The deserving member died at the age of 75.

Helmut Haberkern takes over for him.

In future, he and Hans Klotz (Basch) will keep an eye on the association's financial operations.

Chosen:

Chairman

: Georg Jungkunz -

: Johann Hörmann -

: Josef Zunterer junior -

: Stefan Weineisen -

: Thomas Hennl -

: Josef Fütterer -

: Florian Singer