{"id":10760,"date":"2021-05-12T12:50:54","date_gmt":"2021-05-12T10:50:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/marineforum.online\/?p=10760"},"modified":"2021-05-12T18:41:38","modified_gmt":"2021-05-12T16:41:38","slug":"the-emperors-admirals-barracks-naming-navy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/marineforum.online\/en\/des-kaisers-admirale-kasernenbenennung-marine\/","title":{"rendered":"The emperor's admirals"},"content":{"rendered":"

Naming of barracks and naming in the navy ...\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The incidents in the Bundeswehr, which are still associated with Pfullendorf, Illkirch, the KSK and right-wing extremists, led to the \"Franco A. case\" in 2017 and the 2018 Traditions Decree (https:\/\/www.bmvg.de\/de\/aktuelles\/der-neue-traditionserlass-23232<\/a>).<\/p>\n

\"\"
Under her leadership, the Tradition Decree was created in 2018: Defence Minister von der Leyen; Photo:bundeswehr <\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The associated order to the troops could not fulfil the Marine<\/strong> - although thankfully not directly affected to date. An inspection order was issued by the inspector. In March 2021, allegations emerged that the navy had decided to Naming<\/strong> in their Locations<\/strong> especially when it comes to historically \"questionable\" personalities. This was incorrect, and Vice Admiral Rainer Brinkmann, Deputy Inspector General of the Navy and Commander of the Fleet and Support Forces, therefore felt compelled to make a correction (see marine forum<\/em> Issue 4-20, page 50). In his own polite and amusingly mocking style, he made it clear what he thought of the furore: \"One senses betrayal, one senses scandal, one senses the chance to settle accounts with the navy and its leadership! Names that for some reflect splendour and glory, for others blindness and aberration, should be consigned to the dustbin of history: Tirpitz, Scheer, Graf Spee, Hipper, Coronel, Skagerrak, Marienburg ... Wollin, K\u00f6nigsberg, Elbing ...!\"<\/p>\n

\"\"
Vice Admiral Rainer Brinkmann Photo: reunion-marine<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

He said what was right: nothing! The decision had not yet been made. Only a review of the naming at the naval bases had been carried out by the responsible department heads and commanders. The intention was to come to an appropriate decision in accordance with the tradition decree, with staff representatives and local authorities. They wanted to take their time, because \"patience and composure are needed, not talk and nagging!\" Until then, says Brinkmann: \"The sailors' adage may apply: Keep calm!\"<\/p>\n

April 2021: Navy cancels the name Tirpitz!<\/strong><\/p>\n

The German Navy base in Kiel<\/strong>the Tirpitzhafen, will be renamed and the site will officially only be called Naval base Kiel-Wik<\/strong> will be called. Other loaded names are also to be replaced. For example, the Scheermole will become the Oskar Kusch Mole. The Tirpitzmole also loses its name and is to be named after the poet Gorch Fock (actually Johann Wilhelm Kinau) in future. The renaming goes back to the above-mentioned instruction from the Inspector of the Navy to review all existing names of barracks and infrastructure elements for their worthiness of tradition in the sense of the Tradition Decree and, where necessary, to arrange for a renaming. The Tradition Decree published in 2018 stipulates that the entire Bundeswehr's understanding of tradition should be based on its own history of over sixty years and its resistance to dictatorships and tyranny. Thus the realisation of what was started the year before.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Why Oskar Kusch?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"
The book that made Oskar Kusch famous Photo: Walle<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The renaming of the Scheermole is intended to honour First Lieutenant Oskar Kusch, a submarine commander during the Second World War, who attracted attention in the navy because of statements critical of the regime and was executed on the firing range in Kiel-Holtenau in 1944. Oskar Kusch has already been honoured several times in and around Kiel. But how did this name come into the public consciousness in the first place? A story that has almost never been told:<\/p>\n

The naval historian Dr Heinrich Walle came across the name by \"literary chance\" around 1990 and began his research. With the support of the German Naval Institute (today: German Maritime Institute, DMI, the owner of this website), the then Military History Research Office (MGFA) and the Inspector of the Navy, Vice Admiral Hein-Peter Weyher, Walle was able to publish the biography \"Die Trag\u00f6die des Oberleutnants zur See Oskar Kusch\" in 1995. The editors were the naval historian FKpt d.R. Prof. Dr Salewski and Flotilla Admiral Christian Giermann. The volume was presented in the Kiel parliament. Oskar Kusch was officially rehabilitated by the Attorney General of Schleswig-Holstein on the basis of these investigations. Oskar Kusch was not a resistance fighter who could be categorised as part of the attempted coup d'\u00e9tat of 20 July. But he was an opponent of the Nazi regime and stood by his opinion. He thus symbolises many who acted and spoke in a similar way, but who were either lucky enough not to be denounced or whose fate may still be unknown today.<\/p>\n

Without the German Maritime Institute, the support from the then Naval Command Staff at the Federal Ministry of Defence<\/strong> and the work of Dr Heinrich Walle, the name Oskar Kusch might have remained undiscovered.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Opinions and letters to the editor<\/strong><\/p>\n

(Kieler Nachrichten) Navy breaks with its own tradition. <\/em><\/p>\n

The renaming of the Kiel naval base (KN of 22 April 2021) is widely seen as an overdue departure from the older tradition. Tirpitz becomes Gorch Fock, Scheer becomes Oskar Kusch. The new namesakes are respectable personalities who lost their lives in the First and Second World Wars. They are undoubtedly worthy of tradition for new names in the naval sector. But do we have to throw the baby out with the bathwater? You can also turn the tables. For more than 60 years, an estimated 100,000 men and women - including the author of these lines - have dutifully served on their ships at the Tirpitz or Scheermole without taking offence at the names. Like all military leaders, these namesakes may be controversial with their successes and failures. They were \"children of their time\", just like our grandparents. They did not have today's knowledge of the course of the world. Here it is true that people err, but history is judgemental. We can and should rub our noses in the namesakes, learn from their behaviour and explain it to future generations. But you can't whitewash history, let alone the present and today's society, by cancelling names. Be that as it may, Tirpitz and Scheer have been part of the tradition and culture of remembrance of the post-war navy since 1956. So how is it that in April 2021, in the middle of a crisis-ridden world, the renaming suddenly became so urgent and was welcomed as a great modernisation effect? Apparently, the Germans are unable to deal with their history calmly. Those who marry themselves to the zeitgeist may soon be widowed. Uwe Jenisch, Kiel<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

(Kieler Nachrichten 03.05.21 ) N<\/em>ince you have published two letters to the editor rejecting the new name for the naval base, I feel compelled to write a letter to the editor as a supporter of the new name: Of course, maintaining tradition and renewal have a lot to do with each other. Role models and traditional standards always need to be scrutinised. The Scheermole and Tirpitzmole were named during the \"Third Reich\". Why the role models of that time (and also some from the early days of the Bundeswehr) can no longer apply to us today (hopefully) needs no explanation. The \"Oskar Kusch Pole\" can make it clear: This man was executed solely because of his civil courage in communicating the truth about the Nazi regime of injustice to his occupying forces; this did not even require a crime-orientated resistance. Today, there is no death penalty for civil courage - but it is also required of soldiers, both on and off duty! \"Gorch-Fock-Mole\" probably stands more for the sail training ship than for the writer, who was proudly nationalistic, but by no means overly nationalistic. Don't be fooled: his short novel \"The fastest ship in the fleet\" was about the fastest fishing vessel in the Finkenwerder fleet! Dr Dieter Hartwig, FKpt (retired)<\/strong> <\/em><\/p>\n

Dear Dr Hartwig, I was grateful to receive your reply to Dr Jenisch's letter to the editor as cross-information. The argumentation is conclusive on both sides, although I only vote in favour of renaming \"children of a time\" in exceptional cases (e.g. Petersstra\u00dfe), but not in the case in question. I would have preferred a prominent place for the exemplary and vigilant Oskar Kusch in a maritime renaming. The current juxtaposition of names is also un-Hegelian, because the thesis-antithesis does not fit here, so there is no recognisable progression to the higher. I recommend a parallel look at the renaming debate in Rostock: Initiative for a new name instead of Ilja-Ehrenburg-Stra\u00dfe!\u00a0 R. Wiechert, Altenholz<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Seamen's Sunday in Wilhelmshaven<\/strong><\/p>\n

The German Naval Museum Wilhelmshaven<\/strong> offered its traditional Seamen's Sunday on this topic on 6 May. Although digital due to the pandemic, it was nevertheless attractive. The topic aroused great interest. Without being able to list them all, a large number of mostly retired \"naval celebrities\" as well as men and women from the industry were attracted. This made the technical moderation a challenge and not all opinions could be heard. The aforementioned Vice Admiral Rainer Brinkmann was logged in as an official guest, who once again explained the reasons for the decisions. For him, a value-based approach applied, and a distinction had to be made between memorability and traditional value. He emphasised once again that the renaming had been preceded by an extensive vote.<\/p>\n

Dear visitors of marineforum.online,<\/strong><\/p>\n

What is heritage, what is tradition? After the decision in Kiel, however, this is not <\/strong>\"therapeutic debate\". What will follow? So far, it has almost exclusively been senior citizens with a marine background who have spoken out. What do younger people think, what do citizens think? Go ahead, the comments section is open. And don't spoil my fun: remember the netiquette.
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

Holger Schl\u00fcter, Editor-in-Chief<\/strong><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kasernenbenennung und Namensgebung in der Marine ...\u00a0 Die Vorkommnisse in der Bundeswehr, die bis heute mit Pfullendorf, Illkirch, dem KSK und Rechtsradikalen verbunden sind, f\u00fchrten unter anderem auch durch den \"Fall Franco A.\" 2017 zum Traditionserlass 2018 (https:\/\/www.bmvg.de\/de\/aktuelles\/der-neue-traditionserlass-23232). Der damit verbundene Auftrag an die Truppe konnte die Marine \u2013 obwohl bis dato gottlob nicht direkt […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":10789,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"_oasis_task_priority":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33,486,40],"tags":[1204,1202,1198,78,1028,797,1048,1200,1049,94,1199,1201,1203],"class_list":["post-10760","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","category-headlines","category-streitkraefte-blog","tag-brinkmann","tag-kasernenbenennung","tag-kusch","tag-marine","tag-marinehistoriker","tag-marinestuetzpunkt","tag-marinestuetzpunkt-kiel","tag-scheer","tag-tirpitz","tag-tradition","tag-traditionserlass","tag-umbenennung","tag-von-der-leyen"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/marineforum.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10760","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/marineforum.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/marineforum.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marineforum.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marineforum.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10760"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/marineforum.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10760\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marineforum.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10789"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/marineforum.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10760"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marineforum.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10760"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marineforum.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10760"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}