Civilians in War (III)

Two sides of the coin

A new policy paper on civil protection in times of crisis and war has just been published by the Federal Interior Ministry. It demands “greater interlinkage between civil and military planning” in Germany going forward. To this end, the Interior Ministry is setting up its own staff unit to be called the ‘Civil Defence Command’. Its main task is to implement the so-called ‘Operation Plan Germany’.[1] The plan governs all activities to be carried out in the Federal Republic in the event of war – from the logistics of moving foreign troops to a new eastern front, through the securing of critical infrastructure, to the care of untold numbers of war casualties.[2] Military and civil defence must be “closely interlinked”, explains Federal Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt. The Bundeswehr and civil protection arrangements are now being seen as “two sides of the same coin”. Those involved in implementing the strategy of “total defence” must not only strengthen the armed forces themselves, but “above all” “upgrade civil protection and civil defence”. The new policy paper entitled the ‘Pact for Civil Protection’ is described as a “new, core pillar” of the Federal Republic’s “security architecture”.[3] “In the event of an emergency,” says the Federal Defence Ministry, the Bundeswehr will no longer be available to help out with civil protection. Rather, it will be “doing very different things on NATO’s north-eastern flank”. Germany must “prepare itself” for this scenario.[4]

War-ready civil protection

Formally civil aid organisations such as the THW technical relief agency, the fire services or the DLRG lifesaving organisation, but also the country’s military reserve, are to be integrated into civil protection planning. In addition to allocating new funding, the Ministries of Defence and the Interior have also agreed a number of structural changes. This means, for instance, revising and improving the conditions for voluntary work, on which population protection heavily relies. The central government warning app NINA (“Emergency Information and News App”) is to be extended from hazard and disaster alerts to “recommendations for public shelters” – i.e. bunkers – “everywhere across the country”. Another measure is to set up a medical task force for deployment in the event of a “mass casualties incident” arising from a “state of tension and defence”.[5] The federal government intends to equip the task force not only with “several tens of thousands of modern protective suits for chemical, biological and radioactive situations”, but also with sufficient supplies of “tourniquets” to be “used on the extremities in the event of serious injuries that may result from explosions” in order “to stem severe bleeding”.[6] What’s more, the plan includes efforts to ensure that “children learn from an early age how to act in an emergency, and that this knowledge is then passed on within families, and will also spark people’s interest in voluntary work.” Berlin is also keen to work towards a “growing integration of civil defence into school curricula”. And on the legislative front, a “draft for a new legal framework” has been announced that will make sure “even in crises outside of states of tension and defence” – such as in the event of so-called hybrid attacks – there is legislation in place that gives “all authorities the powers” they need to “prepare today for what must function smoothly in the state of emergency.”[7]

Militarised fire service

The demands and initiatives designed to make civil protection of the German population into an integral part of war preparations come by no means solely from within the state apparatus. Only last March, the German Fire Services Association published a strategy paper calling for civil protection to be reconfigured in preparation for military confrontation with Russia. This move should, the organisation argues, take into account “the latest insights gained, particularly, from […] Ukraine”. Volunteering for fire service roles must be actively fostered, especially because the call-up of reservists for homeland defence will draw on fire-fighters. The draft is likely to lead to “significant staffing shortages [...] with direct implications for the operational capability of fire services and relief organisations.” The healthcare system, too, would be placed under severe strain by the “increasing transport and treatment of casualties from military operations”. Another added strain on services would result from meeting the multiple challenges required for the support of NATO troop movements through Germany on their way to a new eastern front.[8]

Martial law for hybrid war

The “reintroduction of an exemption model for military service” is being designed to remedy the shortage of active people available in wartime. Specifically, it would mean that future conscientious objectors will be forced to perform militarised civil defence functions. In order to ensure “the management of extreme or protracted disaster situations”, the German population must be enabled to “act independently, provide for themselves and implement primary protective measures.” The plans envisage, for example, that civilians be empowered to provide for themselves over several days in an extreme situation. They are supposed to acquire “knowledge of basic self-protection measures and first aid” and develop “risk competence in dealing with natural hazards, technical malfunctions and armed conflict scenarios”. A competent and capable population is seen as a prerequisite “for maintaining the functioning of society in Germany” in the event of war or major crisis. The Fire Services Association paper also calls for a specific legal status for dealing with “hybrid threat situations”. Such a distinct legal framework would apply to the interim phase between war and peace, which means an expansion of the legal scope for taking drastic actions, including state repression, even before a ‘state of tension’ has been formally declared.[9]

‘Civilian support for the armed forces’

Not only are the demands of the German Fire Services Association and the contents of the Pact for Civil Protection very similar, but both are in line with a previously published Green Paper entitled ‘Civil-Military Cooperation 4.0’ (ZMZ 4.0). That discussion document was based on input from a panel of experts from the Bundeswehr, the domestic intelligence agency, the Federal Ministry of the Interior, the Federal Office for Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance, and the consultancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers. It, too, calls for the involvement of civil society in war preparations.[10] The context for its mobilisation proposals is defined as follows: “We are admittedly not yet [sic] at war. But we are far from being at peace.” Germany was, according to the Green Paper, already in an intermediate “grey zone” that demanded “measures for effective cooperation in the event of a military crisis”. It is, the paper says explicitly, a question of “civilian support for the armed forces in wartime or possible escalation thresholds in peacetime”, in order to implement ‘Operation Plan Germany’.

Martial law in peacetime

The authors of the Green Paper on Civil-Military Cooperation 4.0 conjure up an existential threat from the East and call for a national “closing of ranks”. All “citizens and institutions” must know “their respective roles”. “National and Alliance defence” should “soon not only be practised but put into practice.” Furthermore, they call for new laws to address the so-called hybrid threat scenario. The military police should be authorised to carry out coercive police measures within Germany already in peacetime – even before a ‘state of tension’ is declared. In addition, the powers of the Bundeswehr’s relatively new homeland security forces (Heimatschutzdivision) must, they say, be clarified – “in distinction to the police”. With regard to military service and conscription, the authors demand “a service period lasting several years, aligned to the duration of military service, for purely civil/disaster relief tasks”. And, ominously, the emergency powers legislation that enables confiscation of objects, assets and services must, they say, be extended to peacetime. All of these measures are aimed at mobilising the most far-reaching civilian capacities for war readiness.[11]

[1] Bundesministerium des Innern: Eckpunkte Pakt für den Bevölkerungsschutz. Berlin, 20.05.2026.

[2] See: Auf Krieg einstellen, Auf Krieg einstellen (II) und Getting ready for war (III).

[3], [4] Aktuelle Stunde: Bevölkerungsschutz neu denken – Gemeinsam für ein krisenfestes Deutschland. Deutscher Bundestag 21.05.2026.

[5] Bundesministerium des Innern: Eckpunkte Pakt für den Bevölkerungsschutz. Berlin, 20.05.2026.

[6] Militärische und Zivile Verteidigung werden stärker miteinander verzahnt. bmi.bund.de 20.05.2026.

[7] Bundesministerium des Innern: Eckpunkte Pakt für den Bevölkerungsschutz. Berlin, 20.05.2026.

[8], [9] Positionspapier zur Zukunft des Bevölkerungsschutzes im Kontext der Zivilen Verteidigung. feuerwehrverband.de 27.03.2026.

[10], [11] Sandra Bubendorfer-Licht, Leon Eckert, André Hahn, Günter Krings, Ingo Schäfer (Hg.): Grünbuch ZMZ 4.0. Zivil-Militärische Zusammenarbeit 4.0 im militärischen Krisenfall. Eine Situationsbeschreibung, Analyse und Handlungsempfehlungen. Berlin, January 2025. See: Zivilisten im Krieg (I) and Zivilisten im Krieg (II).