DW: Vaccine deniers in the German army as well

What about alleged vaccine deniers in the military? According to press reports, 50-60 cases are being investigated. Are they associated with the controversial Querdenker movement?

Vaccination is now mandatory in the German army, the Bundeswehr. So far, most of the German soldiers have complied with the new rules for dealing with the pandemic.

However, according to a recent report in Spiegel magazine, since the official introduction of compulsory vaccination in the German army until today, dozens of disciplinary proceedings have been initiated against soldiers who refused to be vaccinated against the coronavirus. According to internal documents of the Ministry of Defense, which were made available to Spiegel, at the moment it seems that 50-60 soldiers are under investigation for disciplinary offenses, who refuse to be vaccinated.

For the approximately 180,000 German soldiers, refusing to be vaccinated is tantamount to refusing to obey orders, and may even lead to their expulsion from the Bundeswehr.

In particular, according to the code that applies to the German army, every soldier must do the right thing to maintain his personal health but also to tolerate medical measures even against his will, if they are aimed at preventing or combating communicable diseases (Article 17a Soldatengesetz).

Soldiers’ connections with the Querdenker movement?

At the same time, the news network ntv reports that the German Counterintelligence Service (MAD) is investigating in particular the cases of individual soldiers, who are said to be closely associated with the so-called Querdenker movement – an alloy of vaccine deniers, proponents and supporters.

In fact, according to a report to the Defense Committee of the head of the Counterintelligence Service Martina Rosenberg, several of the soldiers who are in charge have attracted the interest of the authorities in the past because of possible connections with far-right circles.

According to ntv, the recent case of a soldier in Bavaria, who via video called on the federal government to completely withdraw the measures taken to deal with the pandemic and of course the obligation to vaccinate, caused a sensation, calling on the German soldiers to take action, protecting the protesters who take to the streets against the restrictive measures and, if necessary, clash with the police. According to the news network, he had also appeared at an anti-vaccination demonstration, launching threats, often with violence.

Dimitra Kyranoudi, Berlin

Source: Deutsche Welle