Germany is increasing its military spending by hundreds of billions of dollars. To this end, the German parliament voted to amend its constitution in March, a move that received attention from international press such as America’s cnn and Britain’s bbc. But instead of warning about German militarization, the papers claimed the German armed forces “have been chronically underfunded.” The experts quoted were the German generals themselves.

However, they left out critical context.

Both cnn and bbc acknowledged that Germany made a historic decision. cnn wrote on March 23:

Germany has just passed a major reform to its constitutional debt brake, unlocking billions of euros in funding. One model shared with cnn suggested that over a 10-year period, with Germany spending 3.5 percent of [gross domestic product], it could amount to €600 billion (us$652 billion).

Germany’s defense spending already rose by 23.2 percent last year, making it the fourth-largest military spender in the world—just behind Russia, which is currently engaged in a full-scale war. It is the second-largest spender in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, reporting expenditure close to $100 billion in 2024, the equivalent of 2 percent of its gdp.

The new fund will allow Germany to spend 3.5 percent or more, easily breaking the $150 billion mark. Germany is set to overtake Russia in military spending.

Why does Germany need this drastic increase? cnn wrote:

cnn spent the day with the Bundeswehr at an undisclosed location in central Germany as five nato allies took part in training exercises. The simulation was an attack by a “foreign adversary” on another member of the alliance.

Speaking at the makeshift headquarters for the simulation, [German Brig. Gen. Ralf] Hammerstein told cnn: “Germany is a capable nation in Europe, and has to be a partner for other nations. We are a responsible partner in Europe and a big nation. We (have) got to step up, and we will do that.” …

Since the middle of the Cold War era, Germany’s military expenditure as a percentage of gdp has dropped dramatically. Peaking at 4.9 percent in 1963, it fell to an all-time low in 2005 of just 1.1 percent. …

Hammerstein acknowledges that “every army in the world, in history and also in the future, will always claim not to have enough.” But he equates Germany’s current situation as a reliance on the “peace dividend” from the 1990s that “was a decrease for all the militaries in the world, in Europe especially.”

According to Hammerstein, Germany is a “responsible” nation that needs to “step up” after neglecting its military for years.

bbc interviewed another German general and wrote:

The country’s top general has told the bbc the cash boost is urgently needed because he believes Russian aggression won’t stop at Ukraine.

“We are threatened by Russia. We are threatened by Putin. We have to do whatever is needed to deter that,” Gen. Carsten Breuer says.

According to Breuer, Germany urgently needs hundreds of billions in cash to deter Russia. This is used to explain why Germany will spend so much money on its military in such a short time.

As Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry noted in our latest print issue, virtually no one warns about German militarization:

In March, Germany passed a historic constitutional change that allows it to borrow money and spend hundreds of billions on infrastructure and weaponry. Americans and others whose grandfathers fought and died from German weaponry are now cheering this development. They are oblivious to the feelings of revenge simmering deep down in many Germans.

Churchill saw German car manufacturers and other industries shift toward arms production. We are now seeing the same thing. The country’s autobahn is more than a symbol of speed—it is part of its strategic military mobilization plans. Investments are made to turn the whole German landscape into a field ready for battle.

Germany is repeating the actions of the 1930s, yet no one is alarmed!

As in the 1930s, many media outlets argue Germany is just trying to catch up with the rest of the world. But is that true? Has Germany really been “chronically underfunded”?

During World War ii, Germany was the world’s top military spender. After the war ended, allies pledged to demilitarize Germany. But shortly after the war, a formidable German military force began to reemerge. nato documents record that throughout the latter half of the 20th century, the Bundeswehr became the “backbone of nato’s conventional defense in Central Europe.”

Then, as cnn wrote, the percentage of gdp spent on military dropped from around 5 percent in 1963 to 1.1 percent in 2005. But these numbers are misleading.

First of all, while military spending as a percentage of gdp declined, Germany’s rapidly growing economy led to an overall increase in military expenditures.

By growing its overall economy, Germany outgrew military competitors. Last year, Germany overtook Japan as the third-largest economy in the world. Both have similar military spending goals. But Germany spending 2 percent of its gdp on its military is more than Japan spending 2 percent.

Another factor this “chronically underfunded” theory does not consider is how Germany expanded its control over Eastern Europe through the European Union.

Poland became a member of the EU in 2004. Now if Russia were to invade Germany, it would have to invade Poland first. Just this year, Poland announced that it would spend 4.7 percent of its gdp on defense, which amounts to around $34 billion.

This also explains why Germany reduced its main battle tank fleet from 2,000 at the end of the Cold War to a mere 300 today. Notice what Army Recognition wrote on Sept. 9, 2024:

With the planned acquisition of 1,000 South Korean-designed K2 Black Panthers, the purchase of 366 American M1 Abrams tanks (including 250 new and 116 used), as well as the 247 Leopard 2A5 and 2PL tanks currently in service, Poland could field a total of 1,613 tanks.

If Poland spends billions in acquiring a large tank fleet to fend off a Russian invasion, why should Germany bother doing the same? It would just have to store them until they become obsolete.

Another criticism of Germany’s military is the decision to reduce its troops from 500,000 at the end of the Cold War to around 180,000 today. However, notice what else happened.

In 2017, Romania agreed to have its 81st Mechanized Brigade work closely with Germany’s Rapid Response Forces Division. The Czech Republic agreed to have its elite 4th Rapid Deployment Brigade work with Germany’s 10th Armored Division. By March 30, 2023, the last Dutch combat brigade joined a division of the German Army. At the same time, Germany increased cooperation and military training with other EU nations.

This cooperation has been decades in the making. It has been made possible by language training in schools, joint exercises, Bundeswehr training facilities open to soldiers from other EU nations, and German troops on the staff of training facilities for other militaries across Europe.

So Germany has transformed from having an army of territory defenders to an army of teachers and leaders. Something similar happened in the lead-up to World War ii, as Winston Churchill wrote in the first volume of The Second World War:

The victorious Allies had at Mr. Lloyd George’s suggestion limited the German Army to a hundred thousand men, and conscription was forbidden. This force, therefore, became the nucleus and the crucible out of which an army of millions of men was if possible to be reformed. The hundred thousand men were a hundred thousand leaders. Once the decision to expand was taken, the privates could become sergeants; the sergeants, officers.

Despite that history no one is alarmed that something similar could happen today. “Isn’t it because we failed to learn the lessons from World War ii?” Mr. Flurry asked.

We have to ponder this question carefully. Historically Germany has been known for deceit followed by surprise attacks.

The fact that Germany today is seen as a peaceful ally doesn’t make this better. Mr. Flurry explained:

The Bible prophesies that our enemies in the end time will be more sophisticated and subtle than Adolf Hitler was. We are going to be betrayed and attacked by our allies, or “lovers” (Ezekiel 16). And this in the age of nuclear weapons!

So many in our world ignore obvious evil—thus they cannot recognize the deceitful “lovers,” who can be even more dangerous.

Read Mr. Flurry’s article “Heed the Watchman” to see why our media is oblivious to apparent danger.