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German Chancellor Angela Merkel revealed her punk side at the Defence Ministry during the Grand Tattoo,a ceremonial send-off for her,in Berlin.Credit:AP

Merkel requested three songs,two of which the Staff Band of the Bundeswehr had to scramble to arrange.

One was the 18th century Christian hymnHoly God,we Praise thy Name,perhaps a natural choice for the daughter of a Protestant pastor.

The second was a popular chanson by German singer Hildegard Knef calledIt Shall Rain Red Roses for Me.

Merkel’s third choice,which raised some eyebrows,was the songYou Forgot the Colour Film released in 1974 by East German-born punk singer Nina Hagen.

In it,the singer recounts a young woman’s lament that her boyfriend failed to take colour pictures of their beach holiday.

ARD journalist Annette Dittert described the official performance as “surely the most surreal thing I’ve ever seen”.

Hagen,like Merkel,grew up in East Germany,but emigrated to the West in 1976 after clashing with the communist country’s authorities.

Members of the German armed forces carry torches as they march during a military tattoo ceremony,hosted by the Bundeswehr,for outgoing German Chancellor Angela Merkel.Credit:Getty

Merkel,who is caretaker Chancellor until her successor is sworn in,explained that the song was “a highlight of my youth,which is known to have taken place in the GDR”. East Germany was officially known as the German Democratic Republic.

“By chance,[the song] is also set in a region that was in my former constituency” on the Baltic Sea,she added. “As such,it all fits together.”

Before the ceremony,she met other federal and state leaders to agree new measures to curbcoronavirus infections in Germany.

The military ceremony,rich in military choreography and ritual,dates back to the 16th century and is the highest honour the military can bestow on civilians. It has been performed as the official farewell to departing chancellors since reunification.

She called on Germans to stand up to hatred.

“Our democracy also lives from the fact that wherever hatred and violence are seen as a legitimate means of pursuing one’s interests,our tolerance as democrats has to find its limit,” said in a speech earlier in the day.

Almost all the country’s political elite were present — save for the far-right Alternative for Germany,who weren’t invited.

Reuters

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