The Bundeswehr has ordered 8,400 body bags – enough for just two days in the event of war. According to the president of the German Reservist Association, Patrick Sensburg, up to 5,000 deaths per day are expected in the event of a war on the eastern flank. We must do everything we can to protect our children from becoming part of these losses.
Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has revived Joseph Goebbels’ rhetoric on “war readiness.” With the goal of investing 5% of gross domestic product in armaments, around 45% of the federal budget is flowing into weapons and military infrastructure. This is the largest rearmament effort since 1939. These weapons are not just being acquired – they are intended to be used. We are preparing for war.
The European NATO states are already significantly superior to the Russian army in terms of numbers and technology. Further rearmament will not create security, but will create the conditions for a war of aggression. In order to provide enough soldiers for the front lines, there is discussion about reintroducing conscription. This would turn our children and grandchildren into tools of economic interests – for example, for corporations like Rheinmetall or investment firms like BlackRock.
But rearmament does not bring peace. Historically, such developments have always ended in war or economic collapse. Therefore, we must say a clear “no”: no to conscription, no to further militarization.
Instead, we need a return to a policy of détente – to diplomatic solutions that meet both Russia’s security interests and our own. We demand withdrawal from the NATO military alliance – and instead of rearmament: neutrality!