Important Takeaways:

• Defense spokesperson Roderich Kiesewetter for the conservative CDU party said it was ‘absolutely necessary’ for schoolchildren to train for emergencies, calling them ‘especially vulnerable and particularly affected in an emergency’.
• He is calling for mandatory basic training in disaster response, modelled on systems in Finland, which has been preparing citizens for the possibility of a war with Vladimir Putin’s Russia for years.
• Berlin says it even stands ready to provide all schools and teachers with national crisis materials via the Federal Office of Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance (BBK) – and this is although technically education matters are something decided independently by each federal state.
• The ministry also approved a new EU Commission initiative on wartime readiness, and recommended that all German citizens even prepare emergency supplies to last at least 72 hours as per recommendations from the European Union.
• The push for preparedness follows rising concern that Germany is woefully unprepared for a major conflict – and not just in terms of poorly-equipped army.
• Red Cross officials have warned that massive swathes of the population would be left utterly defenseless in a real emergency, while internal assessments suggest the civil protection system is totally underfunded, disorganized and even outdated.
• The EU is now pushing for every household in the 27-nation bloc to have a three-day survival kit ready as Brussels hopes to ensure every citizen is equipped for 72 hours of self-sufficiency amid the growing war threat.
• EU citizens are told to stock up on a dozen key items, including matches, ID documents in a waterproof punch, bottled water, energy bars and a flashlight, as part of their ‘resilience’ kit.

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