The conduct of German soldiers was first called into question when photos of them posing with skulls surfaced
Posted on 11/02/2006 10:34:23 AM PST by lizol
New probe into German soldiers pictured driving 'Nazi' emblem army car
Last updated at 17:14pm on 1st November 2006
The German defence ministry has launched an inquiry into a report that soldiers used a car with a Nazi-era emblem, adding to fears over the conduct of its troops after a scandal over desecrating human skulls in Afghanistan.
In an article to be published by weekly magazine Stern shows a photo of an off-road vehicle used by German soldiers with a palm tree and iron cross on it.
The vehicle with the palm tree emblem was used by members of the German "Bundeswehr" army's elite KSK unit, Stern said.
During World War Two, Nazi Germany's famed "Afrika Korps" under the command of Field Marshal Erwin Rommel used a similar emblem, albeit with a swastika instead of an iron cross, the traditional symbol of the German military.
"A couple of our young men are stuck in the past and thought it was cool to drive around with this Wehrmacht (Nazi army) emblem," a KSK soldier, who was not named, told Stern.
"I and others found it sickening," said the soldier.
Thomas Raabe, spokesman for the defence ministry, said the matter was under investigation.
Stern said the photo appeared to have been taken at a camp in Oman where German soldiers were preparing for deployment in Afghanistan, where some 2,800 German troops are helping to stabilise the war-torn country. It was unclear when the photo was taken.
Rommel, nicknamed the "Desert Fox", was a top Nazi military commander but was later accused of supporting an attempt to assassinate Hitler and was pressured to commit suicide. The public display of Nazi symbols is a crime in Germany and would not be tolerated among German soldiers stationed abroad.
Earlier, Raabe said the army had suspended four more soldiers for involvement in the desecration of human skulls in Afghanistan, taking the total number of suspensions to six.
The number of suspects being investigated had risen to 23 from 20, he told reporters. Of those, 16 are active soldiers.
A week ago, Germany's top-selling daily newspaper Bild printed pictures of German soldiers in Afghanistan posing with human remains, including skulls.
The paper said the pictures had been taken more than three years ago.
The pictures caused outrage in Germany with top politicians, including Chancellor Angela Merkel, describing the troops' behaviour as inexcusable and vowing to punish those involved.
Further images followed, including one photograph purporting to show a German soldier carrying out a mock execution of a skeleton assembled from various human remains.
The emergence of more pictures raised fears that the problem was more than just an isolated incident.
The conduct of German soldiers was first called into question when photos of them posing with skulls surfaced
I guess they're bored. Transfer them to the front.
All the handwringers should be comforted by the fact that Muslims in that geographical area would likely pose with German skulls...with the brains, hair, eyes, skin, and face still attached and dripping with infidel blood.
~ Blue Jays ~
Folks should save their outrage for something more significant than a few soldiers playing with an old skull.
There is a BIG difference between an Iron Cross and a Swastika
Ping
Indeed.
Hey, better Taliban skulls than German and/or Allied skulls.
I daresay Rommel would allow himself a grin or two.
This is much ado about nothing.
You cannot be serious. Just where is the front, exactly?
I think they are in the front already.
Ping
Absolutely. The skull photos are something like three years old, and just happened to appear when Germany is debating a greater role for its troops abroad.
I thought cartan was being sarcastic.
If memory serves, the Afrika Korps under Rommel was the only major Nazi German army that actively avoided committing atrocities and went out of their way to make sure that non-combatants were properly classed and evacuated from their areas of operation. Rommel also made a point of transferring out Nazi zealots and getting rid of SS officers. If nothing else, the Germans *should* have kept the palm tree icon around (minus the swastika, of course) for a unit, because the Afrika Korps was worth remembering, IMHO.
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