Kempten remembers: Memorial ceremony for the victims of the Iller disaster in 1957

Kempten remembers: Memorial ceremony for the victims of the Iller disaster in 1957

The 68th anniversary of the tragic Iller accident in 1957 was celebrated in Kempten on June 12, 2025. Inspector General Carsten Breuer gave a moving speech in the St. Magdalena Chapel in Hirschdorf to commemorate the 15 soldiers who lost their lives trying to cross the Iller. How Mercury According to reports, these basic military servicemen from Airborne Infantry Battalion 19 were stationed in the Prinz Franz barracks in Kempten.

Due to construction work on the Iller Bridge, the memorial event did not take place on the bridge itself as planned, but in the historic chapel. Around 100 guests, including the second mayor of Kempten, Klaus Knoll, and numerous former Bundeswehr members, took part in the ceremony. Breuer took the opportunity to talk about the risks of being a soldier and the current threat situation, emphasizing the importance of bravery and courage for soldiers today.

A change in leadership in the Bundeswehr

In the context of these celebrations, it was announced that Lieutenant General Carsten Breuer will serve as the new Inspector General of the Bundeswehr in the future. He succeeds General Eberhard Zorn, who has held the office since April 2018. Breuer is considered an experienced crisis manager who was able to prove himself during flood relief in the Ahr Valley and as head of the Corona crisis team in the Federal Chancellery dbwv.

He will take up his new position next Thursday and is the 17th Inspector General of the Bundeswehr. His predecessor in command was Eberhard Zorn. As commander of the Territorial Command in the Julius Leber Barracks in Berlin, Breuer has already shouldered important responsibilities, particularly in coordinating homeland security and civil-military cooperation.

The Bundeswehr through the ages

The history of the Bundeswehr is characterized by numerous twists and turns. Since its founding in 1955, the armed force has played an important role in German security policy. In the early years, West Germany was considered a frontline state in the Cold War, which influenced the acceptance of the Bundeswehr in society. Like a documentation of ZDF shows that the relationship between politics, society and the military has changed significantly over the years.

After reunification and the end of the Cold War, the need for national defense seemed to diminish, while the challenges for the Bundeswehr from new conflicts in Europe became more important again. The Bundeswehr is currently faced with the task of adapting to the requirements of the modern threat situation and strengthening military capacities, which should be accompanied by an increase in defense spending.

The commemoration ceremony in Kempten and the upcoming change at the top of the Bundeswehr are an expression of a changing understanding of the military and security in Germany, which is strongly influenced by new political and social challenges.