The German army will arm itself in the event of war, writes on Wednesday (30 July) the diary "Sueddetische Zeitung" ("SZ"), calculating the costly investments of the Bundeswehr for the coming years. Preparations for a possible emergency besides proceed in the German Red Cross.
"Unlike the Bundeswehr, however, small extra money has been received so far," we read. As the "SZ" secretary general of the organization, Chrisian Reuter, said, "in the event of a crisis, the population will not be decently protected. Times of changes in civilian protection have not yet arrived".
According to Christian Reuter, in the event of a crisis, the state must supply accommodation and care for 1 to 2 percent of the population, or between 800 000 and 1.6 million people. Until now, only tens of thousands of people can do so. "Wherever you look, there are no working shelters, no emergency supplies, no hospitals, no drugs like antibiotics. Where are the resources to aid citizens in the crisis? In most cases we don't have them," says Reuter "SZ".
No chance of a fast change
What is more, we read that shortly no change is expected. Half of the €2.5 billion needed is planned for this year. "Sueddeutsche Zeitung" emphasizes that time is the most important, and there is not much.
"Russia could be able to attack NATO territory as early as 2029. In the event of an attack on 1 of the Alliance countries, Germany would service as a logistics centre. global troops would be transferred by the national Republic to a possible front in east Europe. Germany would become a hub of deployment and logistics, and so possibly besides the mark of far-reaching Russian rocket attacks," we read.
According to the Secretary-General of the German Red Cross, the healthcare strategy in Germany is in a hard situation under average circumstances. "We are completely unprepared for a major crisis. So far we have not considered it," he says in "SZ".
Reuter stresses that in a crisis situation tasks may change. Currently, in the case of natural disasters, the military provides support to civilian protection workers, both in terms of personnel and equipment. In the event of a war in Europe, it would be the opposite: "Civil safety workers would then gotta support the Bundeswehr, e.g. in the transport of injured people," writes the journal.
Shortage of shelters and staff
The German Red Cross, despite its limited budget, is trying to educate the staff. Currently, 2,000 nurses, doctors and technicians are trained in the event of war and another crises. They are to be ready by 2029," says the newspaper.
The Red Cross besides indicates a deficiency of access to safe accommodation. According to "SZ", of the 2,000 bunkers and shelters that existed during the Cold War, only 580 survived. "However, not 1 of them is ready for use," we read.
According to Christian Reuter, Germany should consider how rapidly underground parking and subway stations can be converted into shelters. "The situation in Ukraine shows that specified an offer is very effective," writes "SZ".
The diary recalls that the current German government has created opportunities to increase civilian protection spending. For this purpose, he suspended the alleged debt anchor for safety purposes. Still, small is happening. As an example, "Sueddetische Zeitung" gives no decisions on alleged mobile shelter cities. They can accommodate up to 5,000 people and are equipped with emergency and sanitary facilities, net or kitchen.
Although the erstwhile German governments had already announced the acquisition of 10 specified shelter cities, to this day only 1 specified package and half to another organization were sent to the Red Cross. another acquisitions are not even planned yet – summarizes "SZ".
