France Sigh... a German Hangup.....

[Chris Boonzaier]

There was a lot of German Anti Foreign Legion propaganda ... here is an exmple

[Chris Boonzaier]

here

[Veteran]

Hi Chris

Interesting booklet; One ca imagine the content.

But such reactions in Germany (and other countries such as Switzerland) are absolutely understandable. Don't forget our motto "Legio Patria nostra".

A legionnaire serving under contract in the French forces can be considered by his countrymen who feel strongly about their national roots as a renagate.

In fact, no legionnaire is ever required to reject or fight his native country (if he chooses to mention it). But if you and I know that, it is not necessarily general knowledge. I would rather consider such a booklet as anti-French propaganda, also quite understandable in the first half of the XXth century.

Salut l'ancien

Veteran

Edited April 1, 2012 by Veteran

[Bernhard H.Holst]

Hello readers.

Interesting posts indeed. Probably not of great interest these days to the broad public but a subject of widespread and much repeated published information and mis-information in the 1950's in Germany both west and east. The fairly large number of German citizens then serving and enlisting probably contributed to it. Some misinformation has endured until late . I.e. anybody will be accepted regardless of personal history etc. This writer was confronted with some of these aspects as late as the 1990's . And before that while enlisting in the US Army in 1960 was made subject of intense grilling for three days by investigators.

During the French phase of the conflict in Indochina members of the French Foreign Legion mainly of German and other European countries who had the misfortune of becoming prisoners ( mind you I do not call them Prisoners of War ) were sometimes out of "leniency" repatriated to their homelands. Exploited for propaganda purposes but still subject to supervision.

As an illustration: following the October 1956 Hungarian uprising while assigned to Legion Headquarters in Algeria, I encountered two former Hungarian Legionaires made prisoners in Vietnam then sent back to Hungary subject to twice weekly reports to the police. The uprising allowed them to get to Vienna where they reported to the French Embassy. They were attending resolution of their personal situation.

Bernhard H. Holst

serving 1951 - 1957