Is Germany Allowed to Have a Military?

After World War II, Germany’s armed forces were disbanded and were put under the control of the Allied Powers. Is that sanction still imposed on the German military? Is Germany allowed to have a military?

After World War II

The German armed forces during World War II was known as the Wehrmacht (or We March). They consisted of the army (Heer), the navy (Kriegsmarine), and the airforce (Luftwaffe). The Wehrmacht did not contain the dreaded SS (which was completely broken up and many members severely prosecuted), but the German armed forces had been an instrument of Nazism and injustice and therefore had to be broken up.

The Allied Control Council (ACC), which consisted of France, Great Britain, the Soviet Union, and the United States, ordered all members of the Wehrmacht to be demobilized. The reason was that it wanted to prevent Germany from becoming a threat again and rooting out Nazism entirely.

While there were many (particularly Soviets) that demanded Germany never have the capacity to wage war or even militarily defend itself ever again, this idea did not last long with the onset of the COld War, with Germany being right in the middle of it.

For this purpose, the Bundeswehr had to be created in West Germany and the East Germany Army in the German Democratic Republic. Today after reunification, the Bundeswehr is the armed forces of Germany and a contributing member or NATO.

German military forces were allowed to maintain certain capabilities. There are strict limitations on what they are allowed to do today – which are outlined in article 26 of the Grundgesetz (German Constitution).

The Bundeswehr is technically a defense force that is not allowed to be used for purposes other than defense.

The Bundeswehr is also not allowed to be used for internal security tasks. This means that it cannot be used to suppress protests or riots for example. The Bundeswehr is also not allowed to be used for intelligence gathering purposes, and the Bundeswehr is also not allowed to have nuclear, biological, or chemical weapons.

Historically the restrictions on how many men, armored vehicles and aircraft Germany could field were restricted, but this did not last long, thanks to the Cold War.

See related articles: Why was Germany Blamed for WWI?

The Cold War

Because of the cold war, West Germany became a member of NATO in 1955. NATO is an alliance of countries that have pledged to defend one another in case of an attack by the Soviet Union or its allies (or anyone else for that matter).

An attack on one NATO country is considered an attack on all NATO countries. The invocation of Article 5 in the NATO charter means one nation has been attacked and calls on all members to help. It has only been invoked once by the US following the 9/11 Attacks.

In 1990, Germany was reunified and became a member of NATO as a whole nation, including forces from the East German military, giving the Bundeswehr a unique mixture of NATO standard and Warsaw Pact weapons, equipment, and tactics.

Reunification

After the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the subsequent reunification of East Germany and West Germany, the country had to update its military policies because of reunification.

It was allowed to possess war equipment again and introduced the Bundeswehr which is an all-volunteer force.

The Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany in 1990 also stated that “united Germany will not acquire any nuclear, biological, or chemical weapons.”

However, after the signing of the Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany in 1990, Germany was allowed to possess larger numbers of conventional weapons which include tanks, armored vehicles, artillery, combat aircraft, and submarines.

NATO

Germany is a member of NATO which means that it has to follow the organization’s policies. One of these policies is the 2% GDP spending on defense.

This policy was introduced in 2014 and states that member countries should spend at least 2% of their GDP on defense. Germany currently spends about 1.53% of its GDP on defense which is below the NATO target.

That said the Bundeswehr are not to be sniffed at.

The Bundeswehr

The Bundeswehr is an all-volunteer force with around 178,000 active members and around 280,000 reserve members. The Bundeswehr was introduced in 1995 after the reunification of Germany.

The main tasks of the Bundeswehr are to protect Germany’s territory, contribute to international peace and security missions, NATO missions and support civilian authorities in times of crisis.

The Bundeswehr is equipped with around 300 main battle tanks, 2,500 armored fighting vehicles, 380 aircraft (including combat, intelligence, and logistic aircraft, both fixed and rotary wing), and 65 navy vessels.

The Bundeswehr’s function is limited to the absolute defense in the German Constitution (Art. 87a). Its only active duty before 1990 was the Katastropheneinsatz, or disaster deployment.

It aided Germany and other countries after natural disasters both at home and abroad throughout the 1980s. After 1990, global conditions became more uncertain and chaotic, so the German military began to be reconfigured.

As of today, it is still being reoriented in response to Russian aggression.

In 2015, Germany announced a significant increase in defense spending as a result of growing NATO-Russian tensions in Europe.

In May 2015, the German government approved an increase in military expenditure of 6.2% over the following five years to allow the Ministry of Defense to fully modernize the army.

Plans also called for significantly increasing Germany’s tank fleet to a potential number of 328, procuring more Boxer armored personnel carriers to increase the fleet size to 350, and also investing in new submarines.

In 2022, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Bundeswehr took an active role in NATO’s response and has even started sending weapons and equipment to aid Ukraine it its defense.

Following a ruling of the Federal Constitutional Court in 1994, the term “defense” is defined to include not only border protection in Germany, but also crisis reaction and conflict prevention.

The phrase “guarding the security of Germany anywhere in the world” is used synonymously.

Present time

Presently, Germany has one of the largest economies in the world. However, it still lacks the numbers compared to other countries such as the United States and Russia in terms of military strength.

The Bundeswehr is a larger force by European standards but not able to defend the entire country by itself should the entire bulk of Russian forces decide to “Zerg Rush” the country.

Germany has also had to rely on other countries for its national defense. Historically, allied NATO nations (notably the UK and the US) have had troops stationed in Germany to counter any Russian aggression.

In terms of nuclear weapons, Germany has a policy called a negative security assurance which states that the country will not use or threaten to use nuclear arms against any other nation, or even host them.

It also encourages all countries to follow this policy. As a sign of good faith in the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, Germany destroyed its entire stockpile of chemical weapons in 2001.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Germany is allowed to establish armed forces for solely defense but is limited to the German Army, German Soldiers, German Navy, and German Air force but no biological, chemical, or nuclear weapons.

By modern standards, the weapons, equipment, training, and leadership of the German Armed Forces is top tier.

FAQ

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