The Association of Cities and Municipalities is calling on the federal government to take better precautions to protect the population in the event of a military conflict, including more bunkers. “Now it’s not just about making the Bundeswehr capable of defending itself. It’s more generally about protecting the population from war-related dangers,” says the general manager of the municipal association, André Berghegger, to the newspapers of the Funke media group.
In addition to the special fund of 100 billion euros for the Bundeswehr, the federal government must “raise large sums of money to ensure internal resilience,” demanded Berghegger. He named the sum of at least one billion euros in each of the next ten years for the protection of the civilian population. But this is just a boost. The funds should come from the regular federal budget.
Sirens also required
Specifically, Berghegger called for more bunkers in Germany. Of the 2,000 public shelters from the Cold War, only 600 remain that can accommodate around 500,000 people. “It is urgently necessary to put disused bunkers back into operation.” In addition, new, modern shelters would have to be built. In metropolitan areas you can also use underground car parks and subway shafts.
Berghegger also called for additional sirens to be installed. “We would do well not to rely solely on cell phone apps,” he said. There should no longer be a municipality without sirens. “We need a broad mix of digital and analogue instruments. This includes apps, radio and television, display boards and of course sirens,” said the managing director.
