Majority of Germans Unprepared for Military Attack on Country: Poll

Only 17 percent of German citizens said that they would "definitely" be prepared to defend their country in case of an attack, according to a recent poll by German magazine Stern.

The poll, conducted November 15-16 and based on the responses of 1,005 Germans, comes at the same time Berlin's Defense Ministry has begun working to build a "war-ready" military. German Defense Ministry Boris Pistorius announced on Monday alongside his Lithuania counterpart, Arvydas Anusauskas, a new plan to permanently station around 4,800 German soldiers in Lithuania starting in 2024, the first time that Berlin will station troops in a foreign country since World War II.

Several NATO countries have been taking steps to fortify their borders in light of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which some fear could turn into an open-ended war if Moscow sees the right opportunity. Pistorius has also urged his fellow European Union members to fortify their own defensive measures, warning that Europe could "be facing dangers by the end of this decade" in light of Russia's aggression.

"With this war-ready brigade, we assume leadership responsibility in the alliance here on NATO's eastern flank," Pistorius said on Monday after announcing Berlin's plans to station foreign troops.

But according to Stern's survey, nearly 61 percent of Germany's population said that they would "probably not" be prepared to defend their country with weapons in the event of an attack. Another 40 percent of respondents said that they would not be ready to defend Germany under any circumstances.

Around 19 percent of citizens said they would "probably" defend Germany if faced with a foreign threat. Only 17 percent answered "definitely."

Stern's polling also found that men and those with secondary school education were much more willing to defend Germany's borders. Supporters of the German right-wing party Alternative for Germany as well as those who support the moderate-to-left-leaning Green Party were also more likely to say that they would definitely defend Germany with weapons if needed, according to Stern.

A spokesperson for the German Defense Ministry told Newsweek on Friday that the results of Stern's survey are "being closely monitored in the light of current developments" but noted that the ministry's "long-term observations" show that German citizens broadly support the Bundeswehr, or Germany's Armed Forces.

The ministry also pointed to a 2022 poll by the Bundeswehr Center for Military History and Social Sciences, which found that 41 percent of German citizens said they would defend their country with a weapon if it was attacked—a spike from the same poll in 2021, when only 33 percent said they were prepared to defend it.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that Moscow does not want a war with NATO, calling such suggestions "complete nonsense." However, close allies to the Kremlin have said that the cooperation between NATO members shows that the West is preparing for a war against Russia, and U.S. President Joe Biden has also warned about the possibility of a fight with Moscow.

"If Putin attacks a NATO ally—if he keeps going and then he attacks a NATO ally—well, we've committed as a NATO member that we'd defend every inch of NATO territory," Biden said earlier this month.

Putin has previously blamed NATO members for escalating the war by supporting Ukraine's military, and has said that Western influence in Kyiv forced Russia to resort to war.

Update 12/22/23, 12:43 p.m. ET: This story has been updated with additional comment from the German Ministry of Defense.