German MPs break taboo by backing first post-unification Veterans’ Day

Annual event in June is designed to make service in volunteer army more attractive amid looming threats

The German parliament has passed a bill creating the first post-unification Veterans' Day, breaking with a long-held taboo around veneration of soldiers as the country faces up to new looming threats.

MPs in the Bundestag lower house approved the proposal to create a memorial day on 15 June each year, after an agreement between the government and the conservative opposition earlier this month.