It is strange to me that he should be given medal by German general, but I think it reflects our strange present time. ( I had a laugh).
Ah, that's my fault for describing the new ending badly! :( In fact it's a German journalist who arrives in the hospital, researching a story about the famous Russian air ace who lost his legs. He finds the pilot, but he has no medal for him, and no apartment either. The pilot sees the irony that the only people who are interested in his life story are the former enemy - in his own country he isn't wanted or needed. This is really a substantial shift in the story at the end.
There were nearly fights in the auditorium at the premiere - between those who supported the new ending, and those who were outraged by it. It remains true that with the exception of May 9th, the Russian Government of today does little or nothing to help disabled war veterans in any practical way. You can't eat a medal.