Berlin’s new challenge: Germans’ declining willingness to participate in military defense.
From the German news agency dpa, according to a new survey, only about a sixth of Germans said they would take up arms and fight to defend their country in the event of a military conflict.
The research, conducted by the Forsa polling institute, showed that only 16 percent of respondents said they would “definitely” take part in future wars. Meanwhile, another 22 percent said they were still not sure but would “probably” take part in defending their country.
The Forsa poll also showed that more than half of respondents (59 percent) admitted that they would “probably” or “definitely” not be willing to defend Germany with arms if it were attacked. This figure rises to 72 percent among women surveyed.
It is worth noting that the survey found that more than a quarter of respondents (27%) believe that it is “very” or “somewhat” likely that Germany will be attacked by a military force within the next five years. 59% also said that if there is no direct military attack on Germany within that period, Berlin will get involved in another NATO war and should provide financial and military assistance based on the common defense obligations of the members of this military alliance.
The survey, which had 1,000 respondents, was conducted last week on July 28 and 29 (August 26 and 27) amid efforts by Western countries to strengthen their defense and military capabilities.