Home Defense? It has to be!
Home Defense? It has to be!
The new “Home Defense Division” of the Bundeswehr (German Armed Forces) is intended to ensure that the population does not become “unpeaceful” in the event of war.
This means that the state now has not only the constitutional authority to declare strike bans, forced labor, and protest bans in times of crisis, but can also smoothly call in the Bundeswehr for assistance to implement these measures.
Reminder: The words marked in red are links leading to corresponding articles discussing criticism points.
We recommend the following articles, each dealing with the state during a crisis and the Ukraine war:
“Who benefits from the war?”: why European capital cannot risk ending the war, and why the United States is pulling the plug.
“Rule in Crisis“: On the ban of the Palestine Congress and the problem of Palestine solidarity for the state.
“Nationalism and War Readiness“: The instrumentalization of the “We” as “Germans” for war readiness.
“The Basic Law; Property and Democracy“: About the Basic Law and its flaws.
“Profits and Wars“: About the power of the German arms industry over politics and decisions.
“Dimitroff’s Wet Nightmare“: About fascism and why American capital openly turns towards fascism.
“Now is the time for a stance of resolve, resilience, and responsibility. And this stance must come from the heart of society and be supported by it“, with these words, former Federal President Joachim Gauck inaugurated the “Home Defense Division” of the Bundeswehr on March 14.
“The soldiers of the Home Defense Division – initially about 6,000 men and women – are to protect critical infrastructure, secure the deployment of allied troops, and provide aid in disasters. They will be deployed exclusively within Germany.” (Tagesschau)
The Home Defense Division currently consists of 51 home defense companies and five regiments, making it the fourth large unit of the Field Army, based in Berlin.
The troop strength of the division is initially planned to be 6,000 positions, mostly to be filled by reservists.
The formation of the new division is part of the “Operation Plan Germany” (O-Plan), developed in 2024 by the also newly established (2022) Territorial Command, aimed at promoting civil-military cooperation and the “Protection of Companies in Case of War.”
This “Protection of Companies” includes concrete proposals; for example, companies should “train at least five additional truck drivers per hundred employees who are not needed” (FAZ), because “70 percent of all trucks on German roads are driven by Eastern Europeans. If there is war there, where will these people be?”
Companies are also advised to ensure they hire “employees for home defense.”
To support his appeals, Plischke emphasized to the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce that Russia “will be willing and able (to) continue attacking further west in four to five years” – on what logic this “Putin simply continues after Ukraine” realization is based, is never explained.
The scope of tasks of the new division includes “Protection of critical infrastructure”, “Support in natural disasters”, as well as the “Securing of German territory” and “Support for civilian authorities in crisis situations”.
While the first two tasks are somewhat understandable, the “Securing of German territory” seems somewhat vague; what exactly does that mean?
“Support for police forces in extraordinary security situations, as long as the constitutional framework allows”.
And why should the “constitutional framework allow” that?
Why would they not?
A possible answer is provided by Ministerial Director Dr. Christoph Hübner, Deputy Head of the Crisis Management and Civil Protection Department at the Federal Ministry of the Interior (BMI).
Hübner, who gave a lecture on the “O-Plan Germany” at this year’s Munich Security Conference, explains:
“We as BMI have very few troops on the streets (…) The police will already be fully occupied in times of tension, because it is not certain that the population will remain peaceful. Riots may occur” and so far, “communication with the intelligence services (…) through the ministries has not been possible” – but this is to be changed.
Additionally, legislative changes are to ensure that “in the legal state of peace” (which presupposes that there would be a different state in times of unrest) “disinformation campaigns in wartime (…) are prevented.”
In concrete terms, this means expanding executive powers to deal with “possible hunger revolts and anti-war protests” (jW).
It suggests that the planned “legislative changes” against “disinformation campaigns” are meant to further restrict the right to assemble.
State of Emergency
The parallel to Chancellor (and ex-Nazi) Kiesinger’s “Emergency Laws” from 1968 is hard to miss.
Kiesinger’s West Germany established the possibility, through the Emergency Laws, to restrict fundamental rights, including freedom of assembly, freedom of opinion, and the right to strike, in the “state of tension or defense”, if these threatened “internal security.”
The Basic Law (Grundgesetz) still states in Article 115c that fundamental rights such as the right of assembly (Art. 8 GG), freedom of expression (Art. 5 GG), or the postal and telecommunications secrecy (Art. 10 GG) can be restricted in the event of a negative situation.
Work in “war-essential sectors” can naturally also be enforced under strike bans (Art. 12a Abs. 6 GG).
And if the police can no longer handle the “defense against an imminent threat to the existence or the free democratic basic order”, then “armed forces may also be deployed for support” (Article 87a Abs. 4 GG).
Legally, West Germany is thus already prepared to intervene against enemies of the war in times of crisis. Through the “O-Plan Germany”, the state now finally has the means to enforce these restrictions.
So if workers dare to strike against forced labor for war production (see Art. 12a Abs. 6 GG) during a war, the state not only has the right but also, through the Home Defense Division, the means to break the strike.
If this doesn’t sound very “libertarian and democratic”, don’t worry—Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania’s Prime Minister Manuela Schwesig (SPD) has addressed concerns about deploying the home defenders during a drill:
“I know there are also critical citizens who ask: must all this be? the equipment and training of the Bundeswehr; these large exercises? And I say very clearly: Yes, it has to be. Putin, with his attack war on Ukraine, has threatened the European peace order, and it is important that we help Ukraine and do more for national and alliance defense”
Thank you, Ms. Schwesig, I am reassured.
Domestic Concerns Due to Foreign Affairs
Due to Trump’s tactics in the Ukraine war, which likely mean the withdrawal of American aid to Ukraine, Germany must prepare with other European states to eventually cover the missing 45% of Ukraine’s funding itself.
Although only about 38% of Ukrainians still want to fight “until victory” (Gallup, NTV), the morale in the army is now so low that the number of deserters alone tripled in 2024 compared to the previous year (Euronews), and there have been several attacks on Ukrainian military commandos. Nevertheless, the European leadership remains committed to its ambitions for a European Ukraine.
It should be clear by now that this war cannot be ended militarily; even if the EU offered Ukraine a blank check, it would not improve the declining morale, the desire for peace, or the growing dissatisfaction with the Ukrainian government.
Of course, Germany also knows this, as does the EU, and thus the new levels of aid packages (which are essentially loans) are also an attempt to maintain European influence in a post-war Ukraine.
From a political legitimacy perspective, an immediate end to the war in Ukraine would be a disaster — especially once the population realizes that material conditions in Germany will not improve without billions in aid to Ukraine.
Furthermore, it would be much more difficult for the German rulers to uphold Pistorius’ call for “war readiness” of Germany; a call that has propelled companies like Rheinmetall to record profits in their history.
Despite all this, German dominance is determined to continue this war — “Whatever it takes” (Merz).
The “war readiness” also includes the willingness to fight our war; their war.
Our message to you: if you are beaten down by Bundeswehr soldiers because you questioned why Rheinmetall Chairman Papperger now lives in Switzerland after a tough day of forced Rheinmetall labor, just remember Frau Schwesig’s words: “That has to be!”