Almost ten years after the then Defense Minister Guttenberg suspended conscription, the SPD politician Högl suggests to take this step back. One advantage for them is obvious: the Bundeswehr would be better protected against right-wing extremism.
There has been no conscription in Germany for almost ten years, but the new military commissioner Eva Högl wants to change that. In view of an alarming increase in right-wing extremist incidents in the Bundeswehr, the social democrat recommends reintroducing general service on the weapon. “I think it is a huge mistake that conscription has been suspended,” the SPD politician told the newspapers of the Funke media group. Even before this decision was made, there were fears that “right-wing extremism would develop more in a professional army than in a conscription army”.
The Bundeswehr is doing very well “when a large part of society does its service for a while,” said Högl. “It also makes it difficult for right-wing extremism to spread among the troops.” She wants to “discuss it intensively” in the coming year – 2021 is the tenth anniversary of the suspension of military service – she said. The military commissioner must keep an eye on the problem of military justice. When asked whether men and women should serve equally, she replied: “This is exactly what we need to discuss.”
There are “problems with right-wing extremism in the Bundeswehr – and not just in the Special Forces Command [KSK, Anm. d. Red.], which has now hit the headlines, “Högl explained.” This ranges from right-wing extremist statements to right-wing extremist connections and activities an underground army is forming, the military commissioner replied: “We all do not want to hope that. We do not know it.”
“Looked away for many years”
Högl referred to the disappearance of explosives and ammunition and raised the question of what was planned with it. “So far there are no signs of an army in the army or an underground army. We have to use all the rule of law to educate here,” she said. Högl criticized that it had not been looked closely enough for many years. “Right-wing extremism was not sufficiently addressed as a problem in the Bundeswehr.” This also applies to the military screening service.
The military commissioner called on the soldiers to be vigilant towards right-wing extremism. “First of all, soldiers should take action when a comrade is racist or anti-Semitic – at the regulars’ table and on social media,” she said. “As a second step, the soldiers should inform their next-level superiors if they are experiencing right-wing extremism. Of course, the soldiers can also write to the military commissioner or the minister.”
During her visit to the KSK in Calw, she saw that some of the elite soldiers were “seriously concerned and concerned” and opposed right-wing extremism. “Others, on the other hand, trivialize right-wing extremist incidents, according to the motto: You can probably say that,” said Högl. “I always come across the fact that right-wing extremism is downplayed. I experienced it in a similar way when dealing with the NSU murders.”
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