“At 16, I said quietly / I want it, I want it all or nothing”, says the opening verse of a song that military musicians will play this Thursday night for Prime Minister Angela Merkel, in the most solemn tribute that a civilian can receive from the German Armed Forces.
Dubbed Großer Zapfenstreich — in reference to the “great touch” that gave it its origins in the 16th century — the ceremony will mark Merkel’s departure from office, 16 years after she was first elected head of the German government.
First mentioned in 1596, the term Zapfenstreich described the curfew for soldiers to leave the night and return to camp. An officer or sergeant walked through the inns accompanied by a drummer and a flutist, and beat the ends of the barrels with his staff or saber.
After this touch, not one more drink of beer, wine or schnapps was allowed, all soldiers were required to retire, and disobedience led to severe punishment. The military custom was described in the manual “The Perfect German Soldier” from 1726.
Transformed into the most solemn military ceremony, it is always held at night, and all officers with the rank of general, lieutenant general, admiral or vice admiral are entitled to it when they leave active duty.
Its current form was created in 1813, when a Prussian king included a presentation of arms, a prayer and a military song. The performance is rigorously choreographed and performed by two formations of soldiers, holding flaming rifles and torches, and a marching band. Lasts 20 minutes.
The military ritual begins with a marching band call, calls to soldiers wounded and dispersed during battle, and a salute to those who have fallen dead. Soldiers take off their helmets, hold them to their chests with their left hand, and hear a musical prayer. The German anthem is played afterwards.
The “serenade”, where the chosen songs of the honorees are played, is not part of the military ceremony. Since 1998, it has also been made for civil authorities, but only presidents, prime ministers and defense ministers can be honored by this military ceremony.
Merkel is expected to retire from politics in the coming weeks, when the likely new prime minister, Olaf Scholz, is confirmed in his post by deputies.
The ceremony in his honor begins at 7:30 pm (3:30 pm BrasÃlia time), in the courtyard of the Ministry of Defense headquarters, in Berlin. Like previous honorees, she can choose three songs, which will be performed by the military band.
The “all or nothing” at 16 is Hildegard Knef’s “Must Rain Red Roses for Me”, which ends by predicting: “I must know completely new miracles / I must develop again away from the old”. The second choice is the religious hymn “Great God, We Praise You” by Ignaz Franz.
In the third song, the prime minister, nicknamed “mommy” in her country, a conservative politician and owner of a traditional style, surprised the Germans. Merkel, 67, included a work by rocker Nina Hagen, who, like her, grew up and started her career in East Germany.
From the same generation as the prime minister, Hagen became a punk icon after leaving for West Germany, but the song chosen by the German leader is from her previous pop phase: “You Forgot the Color Film” was released in 1974 and, according to friends of Merkel, she knew it by heart.
Because of the coronavirus pandemic, which has caused record numbers of new cases of the disease in the country, the number of candidates has been reduced and there will be no reception after the tribute.
Pacifist groups criticize the event and call for its abolition, because of the prominence given to it during Nazism.
.
