German Government in the Bundestag, 7/21/2014
German Government approves renaming the Luftwaffe base at Germersheim sparked by Prof. Grimmer-Solem’s research on World War II General
In a response to questions in the German parliament (Bundestag), the German government reported that discussions within the Federal Armed Forces (Bundeswehr) about renaming the Sponeck Luftwaffe base at Germersheim had concluded and that a formal request to rename the base “Südpfalz-Kaserne” had been presented to the Inspector of the Luftwaffe. This was formally approved on June 23, 2014. It noted that at an informational meeting of military personnel at Germersheim on April 7, 2014, the government made the officers and soldiers of the base aware of Professor Grimmer-Solem’s article in the Militärgeschichtliche Zeitschrift as well as the national media reports which have appeared about it. This was followed by a discussion of the facts of the case among the military personnel at Germersheim. The Government noted further that the Luftwaffe battalion commander at Germersheim then informed the city of Germersheim about these findings, and an Armed Forces historian presented the facts of the case to the Germersheim City Council. A final decision about renaming the base requires agreement between the city and Armed Forces and is still pending.