The German Ministry of Defence (BMVg) under Boris Pistorius (SPD) raised the rainbow flag again on Friday at its offices in Berlin and Bonn. The ministry said this was meant to stand in solidarity with LGBTQ+ personnel in the Bundeswehr and to recall past discrimination of soldiers because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
In Berlin, State Secretary Jan Stöß (SPD) raised the flag together with Master Sergeant Willi Müller, who in the 1990s personally endured systemic discrimination within the Bundeswehr: because of his homosexuality, he was not admitted as a career soldier. “If someone had told me 40 years ago that I would be here today, raising the rainbow flag in representation of all queer people — I would not have believed it,” Müller said, according to a ministry press release headed “Rainbow Flag: Message of Reconciliation and Responsibility.”
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Stöß explained: “With this sign of solidarity, we remind the female soldiers and male soldiers who in the past were systematically disadvantaged because of their sexual orientation or their gender identity.” The ministry and the entire Bundeswehr stand for comradeship, tolerance and diversity.
In Bonn, Director of the Ministry Oda Döring and Senior Civil Servant Christian Raap set the flag. Döring described the action as more than a symbol: “The rainbow flag stands for diversity, for tolerance, for acceptance and the pursuit of a life of equal rights. The Bundeswehr stands for these values of our liberal democratic order.” At the same time, she urged learning from the past.
Application deadline extended to 2031
Just a few days before the flag-raising, the Bundestag extended the deadline for compensation applications by affected queer soldiers by five more years. The basis is the 2021 law on the rehabilitation of military personnel discriminated in service (SoldRehaHomG). It annuls corresponding verdicts from military courts and provides affected individuals with a rehabilitation certificate, and typically a compensation of 3,000 euros (as TheColu.mn reported).
The law extending the deadline was signed by Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on June 18 and published in the Federal Gazette on June 24. It takes effect on July 24. Applications can therefore be submitted until July 23, 2031 — five years longer than previously planned.
According to the ministry, a total of 218 compensation applications have been filed since 2021. The online portal RehaHom for applications will remain available until the end of December 2026; after that, applications can still be submitted by mail or email.
The ban on homosexuality was lifted on July 3, 2000
Stöß stressed that discrimination remains a problem: “Even today, people in the Bundeswehr are discriminated against because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. It is and remains a permanent task for us.” Since 2022, the ministry has raised the rainbow flag each year on July 3 at both offices. The day was chosen deliberately: on July 3, 2000, the prohibition on homosexuality in the Bundeswehr was lifted by then-Defense Minister Rudolf Scharping (SPD).
