Oath of allegiance

An oath is a solemn expression of loyalty of soldiers.

In the army there are - depending on the status of the soldier - an oath or a vow. In Austria's army the vow of soldiers is called swearing, and in the Swiss army soldiers are sworn in active service. In the National People's Army of the GDR there was also an oath of allegiance.

Historical

Already Roman legionaries had to make an oath ( sacramentum ) to the emperor and the state and renew it annually at commencement of employment. In the German Empire the vow was called the oath of allegiance and, in fact, also opposite this done in those military units that led a flag or a banner. The oath of the Bundeswehr recruits, however, is no oath, only professional and regular soldiers take an oath.

The teams of artillery rendered the oath of allegiance towards their gun, even if the military unit in question had led a flag.

The members appointed by the German Emperor officers contributed this oath, so

• The commander-in -chief of the quotas,
• The commanders of the troops commanded several quotas
• The fortress commander and
• The soldiers of the Empire Country of Alsace- Lorraine, which was administered by the emperor directly

Otherwise, the troops took the oath to the sovereign of the state, which belonged to the person swearing. Only the officers of the troops that were taken by military convention in the union of the Prussian contingent, rendered the oath of allegiance to the King of Prussia. ( for legal organization until 1918 see: Deutsches Heer ( German Empire ) )

German Soldateneide

• Reichswehreid of 14 August 1919:

• New oath of the army of 2 December 1933:

• Reichswehreid ( March / May 1935 in the Wehrmacht renamed) from 20 August 1934

• Oath of the Schutzstaffel (SS):

• Oath of allegiance of the NVA (1962-1990)
• Swearing and oath of soldiers of the Bundeswehr