Bulletins and News Discussion from February 12th to February 18th, 2024 - The Prodigal Failson - COTW: Brazil

Anyone who wants to wage war not only needs an army, but also has to ensure that relevant parts of the population support the armed conflict. One way to at least make this approval more likely is to give the impression that the protection of the civilian population would be guaranteed in the event of war. Similar to upgrading, it also makes tactical sense to create the idea that there is a deficiency beforehand so that appropriate measures become more plausible.

In this sense, the deputy chairwoman of the Union parliamentary group, Andrea Lindholz (CSU), said on Monday and told the dpa: "Germany is shockingly poorly positioned in the area of civil defense." Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) is primarily responsible. Leon Eckert (Alliance 90/The Greens) explained: "Anyone who wants to protect human lives in the event of war must significantly strengthen civil protection in this changed security situation." Unfortunately, this message "has not yet reached everywhere despite the turning point" - an indication that rearmament is only is an aspect of preparation for war.

The debate about protecting the population in the event of war takes place in the context of the new “Germany Operational Plan” (Oplan). In this, for the first time since the end of the Cold War, the Federal Republic of Germany receives a "defense plan" for a possible war (against Russia) with detailed specifications for military and civilian authorities. The Bundeswehr's Territorial Command (TFK) is supposed to complete the "operational plan" for the "overall state defense of the federal territory" by the end of March. The protection of the population and the defense of the infrastructure as well as the protection of a NATO troop deployment are explicitly part of the preparations.

While disaster control in Germany is a state responsibility, the federal government is responsible for protecting the population during war. Due to the enormous importance of involving the civilian population in a future war, the Federal Ministry of the Interior and the federal states are listed in the plan as a “second pillar” alongside the Bundeswehr. A spokeswoman for the Federal Ministry of the Interior confirmed to the dpa that the ministry and the subordinate Federal Office for Civil Protection and Disaster Relief closely monitored the creation of the "operational plan". The fact that there can be no talk of “protecting the civilian population” due to the immense destructive potential of an actual war between NATO and Russia or China is another matter.

Lindholz also called for the establishment of a civilian personnel reserve. In recent decades, the Bundeswehr's reserves have often been used in official and disaster relief, said the head of the planning department at the TFK, Frank Fähnrich, at an event organized by the "Bundestag Reservist Working Group" last October. In the future, however, it will primarily serve the “defense of critical infrastructure”. Because military strategists expect that in the event of war a large proportion of regular Bundeswehr soldiers will fight on the Eastern Front, some activities will have to be taken over by “homeland security regiments,” which primarily consist of reservists. So you have to rely on support on the home front. And what applies to professional soldiers applies even more to the civilian population, parts of which first have to be reacquainted with the topic of "defense of the fatherland" due, among other things, to the general conscription that was suspended in 2011: Anyone who wants to become a master should practice early.