German People ‘Must Become Ready For War’, Warns Defence Minister

The people of Germany need to be prepared to fight a war in Europe, Defence Minister Boris Pistorius has warned.

After decades of neglect, with Germany largely outsourcing its defence to the United States, Defence Minister Boris Pistorius is currently overseeing a major overhaul of the Bundeswehr forces.

However, modernising the military will not be enough to protect the country, alone, the commander-in-chief said, warning that the entire population of the country must once again ready itself for war.

“We have to get used to the idea that there could be a threat of war in Europe. And that means: We have to become ready for war. We have to be defensive. And prepare the Bundeswehr and society for it,” Pistorius said in comments reported by German broadcaster NTV.

The defence chief rejected assertions that the process of improving the German military was going too slowly, claiming “it doesn’t get much faster”.

He said that so far, two-thirds of the 100 billion euro special fund for the military announced last year by Chancellor Olaf Scholz following the Russian invasion of Ukraine has already been committed, but noted that production and acquisition of weapons and other military assets take time.

“Everything that has been messed up in 30 years, sorry to say that, and has been run down cannot be recovered in 19 months,” he admitted.

Pistorius has previously admitted that the German military is incapable of defending the nation if needed to fight a country such as Russia.

The admission from the defence chief echoed longstanding criticisms of Germany by former President Donald J. Trump, who frequently lambasted Berlin for its persistent failures to meet its NATO defence spending requirements, opting instead to hand out generous welfare payments and social services to its citizens and indeed the millions of migrants welcomed into the country.

In addition to failing to adequately fund its military, Germany has also been facing severe recruitment woes, with a report finding that some 27,000 roles out of 164,000 in the Bundeswehr were left open last year.

This has prompted calls from some politicians and military organisations to re-institute compulsory military conscription after it was ended by former German Chancellor Angela Merkel in 2011. However, a survey found that just 11 per cent of the people would pick up arms to fight for Germany if conscripted, while a quarter said they would try to flee their homeland.

Despite the apparent reticence among the public for war, the German government has consistently spouted some of the most pointed sabre-rattling against Russia of any EU nation over the past year.

The disconnect between the public and the government was put on full display by Green Party Foreign Minister Analena Baerbock who said that the state would be willing to financially support Ukraine for years “no matter what my German voter thinks.”

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