Is Germany preparing for the worst? The authorities announced this Monday, November 25, that they were in the process of listing bunkers and shelters where the population could find refuge in the event of an attack, wishing to increase their number, in a context of increased tensions with Russia.
“All buildings – including private property – which could serve as shelter, such as cellars, garages and metro stations” are being inventoried, said a spokesperson for the German Interior Ministry , during a regular press briefing in Berlin. “A digital directory of all bunkers will be established so that people can quickly find them using their mobile phones,” he added.
Citizens will also be encouraged to create shelters in their homes, by converting their cellars or garages, he continued.
The German daily Bild called this plan a “bunker offensive” in a country increasingly worried about a potential Russian threat. The ongoing inventory “will take time,” said the spokesperson, who did not give a timetable.
579 World War II bunkers
Currently, Germany, which has a population of 83 million, has 579 bunkers, mostly dating from World War II and the Cold War era, which can house 480,000 people. Since the start of the war in Ukraine in February 2022, the German authorities have stopped the sale of fortified works in their possession. More than 300 bunkers had been sold by the state and its administrations since 2005. The key points of this shelter development program were adopted during a meeting between senior German officials in June.
Last Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin estimated that the conflict in Ukraine now had all the makings of a “world” war and warned that he did not rule out striking Western countries, reinforcing concern among members of the NATO, particularly those close to Russia, such as the Baltic countries, Poland, but also Germany. These threats arose after Russia’s use on Ukrainian territory of an intermediate-range ballistic missile (up to 5,500 km), designed to carry a nuclear warhead.