German local councils seek cash for civil protection, bunkers for all

Minister Boris Pistorius was visiting Finland's civil protection facilities.

In contrast, Germany has never had bunker sites for all its inhabitants and, since the end of the Cold War, has sold off the existing state-owned facilities or allowed some of them to fall into disrepair.

Even during the Cold War, Germany only had bunker sites for 10% of the population, said Pistorius, adding the Cabinet would discuss the issue.

Pistorius said he was impressed by the approach in Finland of absolute, comprehensive defence and the high level of approval in Nordic countries for a defence that does not come across as militaristic or alarmist.

"Now it's not just about making the Bundeswehr capable of defence. It's about protecting the population from war-related dangers in general," André Berghegger, who leads the association of local authorities, told newspapers of the Funke Media Group.

He was referring to a special fund of €100 billion ($109 billion) set up by Berlin to address major shortcomings in its military after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. The government must "raise large sums of money to ensure resilience at home," he said.

Berghegger called for at least €1 billion in each of the next 10 years for the protection of the civilian population, but said this would only be a kick-start.

The funds should come from the regular federal budget, Berghegger said.

He demanded Germany build more bunkers, saying of the 2,000 public shelters from the Cold War, only 600 still exist, which could accommodate around 500,000 people. "There is an urgent need to put decommissioned bunkers back into operation," he said.

New, modern shelters also need to be built. In urban centres, underground car parks and underground railway shafts could also be used, according to Berghegger.

He also called for additional sirens to be installed. "We would do well not to rely solely on mobile phone apps," he said, adding that no municipality should be without sirens.

"We need a broad mix of digital and analogue instruments. This includes apps, radio and television, display boards and, of course, sirens," he said.