'German Barracks Honouring Nazi-Era Officers Should Be Renamed'

Military barracks in Germany honouring Second World War officers need to be renamed, says German Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen.

She told German newspaper, Bild am Sonntag, that barracks should no longer be named after Nazi-era officers, as part of efforts to modernise the nation's military.

The defence minister added the country's armed forces need to show "that is not rooted in the tradition" of the period's German army.

"It needs to confidently put more of an emphasis on its own 60-year history. Why not rename those barracks?" von der Leyen said.

A handful of bases are named after Nazi-era figures, despite many Second World War soldiers being removed from the names of barracks three decades ago, many of them having no links to war crimes.

It follows calls by the head of the German armed forces for inspections of all army barracks in the country, after Nazi-era military materials were found at a base.