A commemorative plaque featuring a quote by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz was unveiled at Vilnius Town Hall on Monday.
"Lithuania's security is also our security. The protection of Vilnius is the protection of Berlin," Merz said in his speech at the inauguration of the German brigade in Lithuania on May 22.
The plaque, with the quote in Lithuanian and German, will be mounted on the side of the Town Hall facing Vokiečių Street (Germans’ Street).
Speaking at the ceremony, Vilnius Mayor Valdas Benkunskas said the German commitment he heard this summer in Cathedral Square from Chancellor Merz was highly significant.
"We also have US President Bush's words displayed in this very place, and the fact that one of the Town Hall's walls faces Vokiečių Street adds even more symbolism, even though the words were spoken in another Vilnius square," he told reporters later.
The mayor said that in the context of geopolitical challenges, Germany's commitment to deploy a brigade of 4,000 to 5,000 troops in Lithuania by the end of 2027 strengthens the country's security.
German Ambassador Cornelius Zimmermann thanked Vilnius in Lithuanian for this gesture and for strengthening the ties between the countries.
"The soldiers feel your support, warmth and solidarity. The death of a Belgian soldier a few days ago showed that even safeguarding freedom has become risky," he said.
Christoph Huber, the commander of the German brigade in Lithuania, invited those present to honour with a minute of silence the memory of the Belgian soldier who was severely injured during live-fire training at the Pabrade military training area and later died.
Huber also told the ceremony that "the protection of Vilnius is the protection of Brussels".
"Although his famous phrase highlights our German contribution to NATO, it is also true to say that the protection of Vilnius is the protection of Brussels. And that protection is not free. It has its price. Sometimes – the highest one. Last Saturday, we were reminded of this in the saddest and most dramatic way, when one of our Belgian comrades died from injuries sustained the day before during an exercise," he said.
In 2002, a plaque was unveiled at the Town Hall with a quote from then-US President George W Bush: "Anyone who would choose Lithuania as an enemy has also made an enemy of the United States."
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