Thaindian News

Moscow, Mar 6 (ANI): Ewald von Kleist, the last survivor of the German plot to kill Nazi leader Adolf Hitler during the Second World War, has said that the country’s current army is very gentle, and needs to be “placed in a situation where he can handle the horrible things he’s likely to experience.”

The Scotsman quoted 88-year-old Kleist, who tried to kill Hitler with a bomb on 20 July, 1944, as saying that there was too much “gentleness” in the training of the modern Bundeswehr, which deprived recruits of the killer instinct in combat.

“Things are more difficult for them when push comes to shove. If possible, a soldier should be placed in a situation where he can handle the horrible things he’s likely to experience,” he said.

NATO allies have been expressing discontent over the caliber of German troops and weapons during their fights in Afghanistan. Kleist has that this situation has arrived because of the anti-militarism in society following two world wars.

“Because of our past, we have a completely different attitude toward soldiers. In some cases, this goes too far in the other direction. I believe that society in general does not sufficiently support the Bundeswehr, which also happens to be their Bundeswehr and is partially responsible for our peace and prosperity. In this respect, society isn’t behaving very well at the moment,” he said.

He also stressed that it was time for soldiers to think less and obey more, adding: “We want the thinking soldier, which is in principle OK. But if you rely too heavily on thinking soldiers, the soldiers end up having problems. When he approaches his evil enemy and is thinking too much, he’ll say: ‘OK, the closer I get, the more dangerous it gets!’ This isn’t necessarily helpful.” (ANI)