German troops stationed in France, a postwar first
STRASBOURG, France — For the first time since World War II, German combat troops are being stationed in France, part of a conscious effort to show the two EU powers have forever buried former hatreds.
A German battalion in a French-German military brigade officially took up arms Friday at a symbolism-rich ceremony in eastern France attended by the two countries’ defense ministers.
The 6,000-strong French-German Brigade was created in 1989. But until this year German combat troops had never been stationed in France, though French ones had been posted at bases in Germany — a legacy of the allies’ postwar occupation.