Less than 40 per cent of Germans said they would be willing to defend their nation with weapons even if it came under attack, a survey has found.
A poll conducted by Forsa for German broadcaster RTL Deutschland, found that 59 per cent of adults said they would “probably not” or “absolutely not” take up arms to defend their homeland in the case of an invasion or other attack.
Conversely, just 38 per cent of German adults said that they would “definitely” or “probably” be willing to fight to protect their nation, NTV reports.
The survey showed striking differences among generations, with 45 per cent of 18 to 29-year-olds and 44 per cent of those aged between 45 and 59 would be willing to fight for their country. This was opposed to millennial Germans, or those between the ages of 30 and 44, with just 34 per cent expressing willingness to pick up arms in the case of an attack.
Differences were also seen among political affiliation, with supporters of the Green party being the least likely to be willing to defend the country with arms at just 35 per cent. Supporters of the centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) were the most willing to fight, at 49 per cent.
There was also a steep divide among the genders, with men overall being more inclined to pick up arms to defend the nation than women, by a margin of 54 per cent to 23 per cent. The polling firm also said that the willingness to protect one’s country also declined among those who went through higher education.
A growing debate is emerging in Germany as to whether military conscription should be reintroduced after it was abolished in 2011. https://t.co/0sC7QSNOQd
— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) February 12, 2023
The poll comes as Germany and other countries in Europe are seeing increased calls to bring back military conscription in light of a potential full-on war between Western NATO powers and Russia over Ukraine.
German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius, for example, warned in October that the German public needs to ready itself for the possibility of entering the conflict, saying: “We have to become ready for war. We have to be defensive. And prepare the Bundeswehr and society for it.”
Pistorius has previously acknowledged that the German military is currently incapable of defending the nation should it enter into war with a country with the capabilities of Russia. The German Bundeswehr has been wracked by decades of underfunding — a failure often highlighted by former President Donald Trump — as well as facing massive recruitment shortfalls.
While Pistorius has not formally advocated for a return of conscription, some of his counterparts across Europe have begun to openly discuss the idea. The top general in the British Armed Forces, Chief of the General Staff General Sir Patrick Sanders suggested that Britain may require a “citizen army” and that the UK should take “preparatory steps to enable placing our societies on a war footing”.
Meanwhile, Denmark’s Defence Minister, Jakob Ellemann-Jensen has said that given that the Danish military is incapable of defending the country, the government should consider opening up conscription for women to join the fight.
