In an extensive interview with the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung last weekend, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz (Christian Democrats, CDU) revealed the ruling elite’s strategy focused on war and power dominance. Merz asserted that Germany needs to establish “the strongest conventional army in Europe,” surpass NATO objectives, and brace for a time when “the law of the strongest” regains relevance. He declared that the period of a “rules-based order based on international law” has ended, emphasizing that “strength” is now paramount.
These remarks amount to an explicit endorsement of war and unchecked military buildup. Merz advocated for Germany’s return as the leading military force on the continent—potentially acting independently of the United States. While acknowledging the importance of maintaining the nuclear partnership with the US, which permits joint nuclear strike authority, he also suggested that rising transatlantic tensions might necessitate a future nuclear alliance within Europe alongside France.
He did not exclude the possibility of Germany acquiring nuclear weapons if cooperation with France fails to materialize. Merz stated that this discussion is premature and highlighted that existing treaties—the Two Plus Four Treaty and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty—currently “preclude” such an option. When the F.A.Z. pressed him on the inevitability of an honest debate given Germany’s status as the EU’s largest nation, he responded, “The time is not ripe for that. My concern now is conventional defence.”
This declaration serves as a warning: the government is prioritizing a substantial upgrade of conventional arms and will not hesitate to pursue nuclear capabilities when the conditions are favorable. Provocative calls for a “German bomb” have become frequent in mainstream outlets. For instance, an August Handelsblatt article headlined “Strange … must we learn to love the bomb?” asserted, “The technology is not the problem. The decision for or against a European and, ultimately, German nuclear force is a political one.”
The openly stated aim to build “Europe’s strongest conventional army” signals Germany’s re-emergence as an imperialist military power. The 2025 defense budget allocates €62.43 billion from the regular budget and €24.06 billion from special funds—a total of €86.49 billion—the highest since World War II. By 2029, this budget is expected to exceed €150 billion, representing roughly 3.5 percent of GDP. Additionally, about 1.5 percent of GDP will be directed toward war infrastructure, raising total military expenditure to 5 percent of GDP—more than €215 billion and approximately 45 percent of the federal budget for 2024.
The approved rearmament, decided with the support of the Left Party and the Greens, is only comparable to the Nazi buildup before World War II. This initiative will create 10,000 new military and 1,000 civilian positions while channeling billions into new weapons systems: 35 F-35 fighter jets, 60 CH-47 transport helicopters, hundreds of combat, infantry, and wheeled armored vehicles, warships, drones, missile and air defense systems, and even a space command. Germany is thus progressing toward becoming the top military power in Europe and the world’s third-largest arms producer after the US and China.
Alongside military growth, the economy is transforming toward a war footing. Under the title “Die Panzerrepublik” (The Tank Republic), the latest edition of Der Spiegel exposes the rapid conversion of the German economy toward arms manufacturing.
In Unterlüß, Lower Saxony, Rheinmetall launched Europe’s largest ammunition factory—a facility projected to produce 350,000 shells annually by 2027. The firm also manufactures rocket engines and is expanding operations into Spain, Hungary, and Slovakia. Salzgitter AG resumed production of “armour steel,” unavailable for decades, consolidating its military efforts under Salzgitter Defence.
Companies from various sectors are joining this militarization trend—the automotive supplier Schaeffler, printing press manufacturer Heidelberg, laser technology firm Trumpf, and vehicle makers VW and Porsche are all entering arms production. Der Spiegel refers to this as an “arms industry miracle.”
The government supports this shift through public loans, EU funding, and energy subsidies redirected to military purposes. Economic, industrial, and defense policies are merging into a unified state initiative reminiscent of the dirigiste rearmament policies of the 1930s. As then, state-funded arms contracts drive economic growth, with society ideologically mobilized for “combat readiness.”
This expansion extends beyond economics and the military. Merz characterizes the nation as a “blocked republic” demanding “fundamental changes.” The federal government is working on reintroducing conscription. The chancellor’s rhetoric reflects an authoritarian state moving toward mobilization: citizens must accept sacrifice; democracy must become “combative” and act decisively against adversaries.
Rearmament expenses overwhelmingly burden the working class, who face cuts to social services while billions are funneled into tanks, missiles, and other weaponry.
Trade unions are co-opted with appeals to “national responsibility” and enhanced “defence industry productivity.” The arms sector promotes “patriotism in the workplace,” attracting skilled labor through higher wages and government contracts.
Educational institutions are also complicit, with youth officers visiting schools and universities openly recruiting for the military. Mainstream media labels critics of armament and war as “unpatriotic” or “pro-Russian,” hailing the revival of the German arms industry as a symbol of economic vigor and national pride. The “tank republic” is glorified as a contemporary economic success story financed by public debt and cuts to social spending.
What is forming is a fresh military-industrial complex. Major corporations such as Rheinmetall, KNDS, Hensoldt, Diehl, and Airbus Defence are posting record profits, while numerous small and medium-sized companies follow suit. Engine maker Deutz supplies howitzer engines, ZF Friedrichshafen produces tank transmissions, Renk powers the European MGCS battle tank, and hundreds of SME engineering firms have shifted their production toward military parts. Startups like Arx Robotics and Helsing develop AI systems, drones, and automated combat platforms, backed by NATO and federal funding.
The German Security and Defence Industry Association reports that since 2021, the number of SMEs involved with armaments has more than doubled. Investors are favoring DefenceTech funds. By 2030, Germany and the EU will have poured over one trillion euros into the defense industry—a scale only rivaled by rearmament efforts before the First and Second World Wars.
The striking resemblance to the 1930s war economy is chilling. Then, as now, the state provided contracts, directed investments, controlled labor, and justified everything with national “necessity.” The Nazi Four-Year Plan subordinated industry, finance, and labor entirely to war preparation. Presently, this is unfolding under a nominally “democratic” guise, but with the same economic levers: state oversight, monopoly building, export drives, and ideological mobilization.
The intentions of German imperialism echo those of the Hitler era. Eight decades after the Wehrmacht and SS atrocities, Germany’s ruling class is once more preparing an aggressive campaign in the East. Using the pretext of “defending democracy,” Berlin seeks the same power ambitions that twice brought Europe to devastation: continental dominance, control over Ukraine and Eastern Europe, culminating in Russia’s subjugation.
Simultaneously, imperialist aims in other global regions will be pursued through military force. Merz’s criticism of Europe’s lack of “bunker-busting weapons” to thwart Iran’s nuclear ambitions or the capability to “disarm” Hamas encapsulates the rationale: a Germany-led Europe must possess the military means to intervene and assert geopolitical and economic interests.
Much like the 1930s, the objective is securing markets, resources, and spheres of influence by force. While “peace and security” serve as the official justification, the arms race is actually driven by the same capitalist motives responsible for two world wars.
The direction set by Merz and the government guarantees war—both internationally and domestically. The working class can only prevent this by organizing independently, resisting militarization, and linking anti-war efforts with opposition to capitalism. The vision of a “tank republic” in Germany must be thwarted through a conscious socialist movement opposing war, militarism, and the capitalist system in its entirety.
Original article: wsws
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