In German, ”Wenn wir wieder Stärke zeigen müssen,” a caption in a recruiting advert stressing the need for a stronger Bundeswehr caused quite a stir in Germany.
”Here we go again,” becoming quite the popular, knee-jerk reaction. A response to this reaction (somewhere on Twitter) claimed that the problem actually lay with the people associating this quote with Germany´ s Nazi history and their interpretation of the advert as a desire for a more successful repeat performance against Russia.
In other words, according to this pacifist logic, a strong German military presence is to be avoided for the sake of peace in Europe. True up to the point where a strong military is a must for invading any neighbouring country. What should be remembered though, as both past and recent history show us, is that this warmongering formula is incomplete and rendered useless without an autocratic catalyst. Democracies do not go to war with one another. Democracies do not instigate a ”special military operation” using indiscriminate bombing of civilian targets, rape and torture as a means of subjugating their neighbours.
Looking back a generation there can be no doubt that Germany has learnt a lesson from its past although its focus on economy as opposed to other manifestations of power has come unstuck. Somewhat eyebrow raising that anyone in Germany ever believed that militant imperialists can be bought off; something the most of Europe has known since 1939 up to the present.
However judging by the recent actions of the German government and its now widespread support of Ukraine both military and humanitarian, the country seems to finally have taken a decisive step from being a politically introvert, anti-Nazi democracy to becoming a country that, together with its like-minded neighbours, is prepared to fight for its own and other country´ s right to democracy.
The need to be strong again has never rung truer, only this time the boot is on the other foot.
