German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt is putting his words into action. In September last year, the Bavarian conservative politician announced he wanted to boost Germany’s civil protection and emergency management capabilities. Eight months later, the government is to decide on the measures at its next cabinet meeting on Wednesday.
A package of €10 billion ($11.6 billion) will be set aside for civil protection through 2029. “This will involve, among other things, the purchase of a thousand special vehicles,” a Dobrindt spokesman announced. About one-third of the funds are earmarked for the modernization of the buildings concerned Federal Agency for Technical Relief (THW)as well as personnel and technology for the federal agency.
THW currently has a budget of approximately €500 million and approximately 2200 people on staff. It also includes about 88,000 volunteer assistants. The speaker could not say whether other relief organizations like the Red Cross would also get a share of the government aid.
a wide range of threats
“Hybrid threats from Russia are also increasing and something must be done accordingly – and that is what we are doing right now,” the spokesperson said.
According to the statement, the existing Medical Task Force (MTF) will be expanded and more than 50 locations across Germany will be prepared to respond in the event of a sudden mass casualty incident. The basic idea of this concept has been in existence since 2007 but has been developed several times since then.
After Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 in violation of international law, then German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) announced a turning point, with civilian protection at the top of the political agenda.
But Germany’s lack of crisis preparedness was already exposed during the July 2021 Ahr Valley flood disaster, when 135 people died in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate and 47 in neighboring North Rhine-Westphalia. During that time, early warning systems failed and lack of sirens was observed.
Where can people escape from the bombs?
The backlog of investment needs is massive because the entire country lacks the necessary infrastructure – even among the population, there often appears to be a lack of awareness of external and internal threats. Decades of peace seem to have bred a certain complacency. So where would people go if Germany got involved in the war and they needed protection from bombing attacks?
German Association of Towns and Municipalities (DSTGB) Which represents about 14,000 local authorities, has already urged action from the federal government in 2024. In his opinion, civil defense funding of €10 billion is needed to refurbish the country’s approximately 600 available but dilapidated bunkers.
In any case, these bunkers are of limited use in the event of a crisis or war because Germany has a population of 84 million and the shelters only have enough space for 478,000 people. This is equivalent to approximately 0.56% of the population. These figures come from Germany’s Federal Office for Civil Protection and Disaster Relief (BBK).
Multilingual Guidebook
The federal authority’s website also has extensive information about ways people can protect themselves. Planning ahead guidebooks for crises and disasters include checklists of things needed to be well prepared in an emergency. Basic rules: “All families should be able to support themselves for 10 days, if possible. This means ensuring water and food, medical supplies and toiletries in case of emergencies.”
The brochure is available in German and the 8 other most spoken languages in the country: Arabic, English, French, Polish, Russian, Spanish, Turkish and Ukrainian.
Interior Minister Dobrindt has other ideas. In October, he advocated including the subject of war and crisis management in school lessons. “I suggest that, once every school year, an extended lesson be conducted with older students that covers different potential threat scenarios and how to prepare for them,” she said. His call was supported by the German Teachers’ Association (DL).
“To be honest, the war has long since reached the classrooms,” DL president Stephane Dull told DW at the time. That’s why young people are also considering whether they will defend Germany by using weapons if needed and voluntarily joining the country’s army, the Bundeswehr.
The interior minister wants to more closely link civil defence, including crisis response and disaster protection, with military defence. A new staff unit will be created to achieve this, Dobrindt announced in Germany’s mass-circulation tabloid Picture.
Left criticizes defense focus
The opposition Socialist Left Party criticized the plans. Germany clearly needs efficient, reliable and practical civil defence, he said. “This should effectively protect people from heat waves, cold waves, floods, wildfires, storm events and other disaster situations,” advocated Jan Köstering, the Left Party’s spokesman for civil protection and emergency management.
Lawmakers from the Bundestag, the lower house of parliament, believe the Interior Ministry’s plans are unbalanced: “The problem is that the focus is not on a completely modern civil protection system, but is again strongly influenced by security and defense policy scenarios.”
This article was translated from German.