"I propose that during the school year, high school students be given a double lesson discussing possible threat scenarios and how to prepare for them. Children are important knowledge bearers in families," the minister said in an interview with the newspaper Handelsblatt. He intends to submit his proposal to the heads of the interior ministries of the German federal states for discussion in the near future.
In the Bundestag, Dobrindt's initiative met with harsh criticism from opposition representatives.
"It's clear that this is aimed at inciting fear," Nicole Gohlke, deputy chair of the Left Party parliamentary group, commented on the interior minister's proposal in an interview with AFP. She called such intimidation, especially among children and young people, unacceptable. "Schools must be absolutely protected from this," Gohlke said.
The Alternative for Germany (AfD) party considers the minister's proposal not simply alarmist but a deliberate attempt to "make the topic of an impending war obvious, even inevitable," AfD spokesman Gottfried Curio told AFP. "Dobrindt is demonstrating air superiority over cribs," he added.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has previously stated repeatedly that Germany must be prepared for military conflict, and this applies not only to the army but to society as a whole. The ministry has developed a plan for close cooperation between the Bundeswehr and various civilian organizations and institutions in the event of a conflict. Recently, practical exercises based on this plan have been conducted in the country.