display
Appen / Berlin (dpa) - The planned renaming of the non-commissioned school in Appen in Schleswig-Holstein after the "Landshut" pilot Jürgen Schumann is getting closer.
The Inspector of the Air Force, Lieutenant General Ingo Gerhartz, has expressly approved the proposal of the barracks employees in his order of the day on Friday.
"We are in good hope and in good spirits that we can do it this year - and can also do it in a festive setting," said a Bundeswehr spokesman on Friday for the German press agency.
So far, the barracks has been named after Hans-Joachim Marseille, a high-ranking Wehrmacht officer.
The editorial network Germany RND had previously reported.
Schumann (1940-1977) was a captain in the air force, had started his flying training in Appen and was later a Lufthansa pilot.
As captain of the «Landshut», he was shot dead by terrorists in Aden (Yemen) in October 1977.
"He put his life before the lives of his passengers when he tried to negotiate with the hostage-takers and to give the authorities information about the number of hostage-takers," wrote Gerhartz in the daily order.
"His courage and his sense of responsibility are exemplary."
In 2017, then Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen (CDU) announced that barracks would be renamed with the names of Wehrmacht officers in order to clearly differentiate the Bundeswehr from the tradition of the Wehrmacht.
display
The list of suggestions made by the barracks staff also included the name of Sergeant Karl Laabs, who had saved the lives of many Polish Jews in 1943.
The so far unnamed central lecture hall of the NCO school is to be named after him.
According to the information, around 600 people are employed in Appen.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210326-99-979801 / 2
Order of the day to rename the barracks to Appen