The federal defense ministry has paid out almost €400,000 in compensation.
The German Ministry of Defense has paid out €398,000 in compensation to 178 homosexual soldiers since a law rehabilitating troops who suffered discrimination came into force two years ago.
In a statement, the defense ministry said it had expected more applicants but that the legislation had achieved its goal of putting right the historic wrongs. The law came about following a study in 2020 that revealed “systematic cases of discrimination” in the Bundeswehr from 1955 to the beginning of the 21st century.
Discrimination against gay soldiers was first reported by the underperforming German army around 2000 and it took two decades to decide on compensation for those affected.
The law also offers compensation for homosexuals who served in the National People’s Army of the German Democratic Republic (GDR), more commonly known as East Germany.
Germany’s federal defense minister personally apologized to the gay soldiers when the study was released. That minister was none other than Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, who for a while was Chancellor Angela Merkel’s chosen successor, but failed to live up to expectations.