But now factories from the Rhine to the Ruhr are firing up once more to produce tanks, weapons and ammo in the face of an increasingly uncertain world, with one manufacturer alone starting a £173 million spending spree. Since the end of the Second World War thousands of British and American soldiers have been stationed in Germany, acting as a bulwark against, at first, Soviet Cold War aggression and later as part of a NATO guarantee against Putin’s Russia.
Since US President Donald Trump started his second term in the White House he has been repeatedly scathing of NATO and its members like Germany, urging the Europeans to pick up the tab for their own defence. Trump has vowed last week to shrink US troop numbers in Germany. The White House said it would remove 5,000 soldiers, but Trump said he would go “a lot further” than that. There are usually around 36,000 American personnel stationed in the country.
German defence minister Boris Pistorius said his country “must aim to become a major military power”.
Indeed since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, the German military, known as the Bundeswehr, was given a special £86 billion fund set up solely to procure new equipment.
And late last year, Chancellor Merz’s government announced plans to raise the number of military personnel to 260,000, up from about 180,000. In 2001, when Germany still had conscription, the headcount was 300,000, more than a third of whom were conscripts. Berlin says it will also need around 200,000 reservists, more than double the current figure.
Responding the Pentagon announcement of US troop withdrawals, Mr Pistorios acknowledged that Europe must take more responsibility for its own security and he said the Bundeswehr is growing, military equipment is being procured more quickly and infrastructure is being developed.
At famous German weapons manufacturer Heckler & Koch, sales manager Marco Geissinger told the Telegraph: “We’ve significantly expanded our production capacity, and we’re implementing a new programme of well over €200 million [£173million] focused on further scaling up our output…we’re confident we can meet the growing demand.”
Mr Geissinger added: “Perceptions of the defence industry in Germany have changed significantly over the past years. There is a broader understanding today that defence capability is essential to protecting freedom and stability.”
