On July 20, 2026, leading Bundeswehr military, political and academic prominents attended the annual ceremony at the Berlin Bendlerblock commemorating the attempt on July 20, 1944, to overthrow the Hitler Nazi regime. The event, which at the same time is an oath-taking ceremony for the new Bundeswehr recruits, usually features a speech reflecting on that attempt, given by a special guest of honor. This time, Iranian-German writer Navid Kermani delivered a stirring speech. For anyone who cares deeply about human dignity and civilization, this is an example of how it is both possible and necessary to raise one’s voice, rather than cowardly howling with the wolves and thereby bringing about one’s own downfall. The entire event is available on the phoenix.de television program, which covered the Bendlerblock ceremony, Kermani’s speech starting at approximately minute 33 . https://www.ardmediathek.de/video/phoenix-vor-ort/geloebnis-im-gedenken-an-den-deutschen-widerstand/phoenix/Y3JpZDovL3Bob2VuaXguZGUvNTIxOTU5Nw
Among other things, he said (quotes selected in a July 28 item on the BueSo webpage) :
“After all, in his March 24 speech at the Federal Foreign Office, the Federal President had good reason to remind us that Germany is committed to international law and the rules-based world order. The reactions of political decision-makers in the government and parliament to his speech—which ranged from schadenfreude to defensiveness to outright silence—made it clear just how justified his warning was. After all, even in Germany, there is a growing chorus of voices claiming that the rules-based order is now nothing more than a topic for the arts and culture section. None other than the Chancellor has made it a habit to downplay international law and gloss over violations of it whenever it seems politically expedient.
