Germany’s Road to War Against Russia

by Karl Richter

Karl Richter argues that Germany is manufacturing the political atmosphere for war with Russia, as accusations, provocations, and demands for retaliation begin to recall the dark logic of September 1939.

If you were not witnessing it yourself, you would think it was a bad film—one that could scarcely be more stupid, more sinister, or more grotesque. You would pinch yourself just to make sure it was only a nightmare. It is no longer even possible to have a discussion, because a discussion, at least among rational people, always presupposes that there are at least two conceivable positions. But that is no longer the case.

The fact is this: the West—and Germany right at the forefront—wants war with Russia. More perceptive observers could see this long ago, certainly no later than the 2014 overthrow in Ukraine, which the CIA alone sponsored to the tune of five billion dollars. Those are not my words, but those of then US Assistant Secretary of State Victoria “Fuck the EU” Nuland. One could still play dumb. Quite a few people are doing so to this day. But then, these are the same people who regarded Corona as a pandemic.

Today, after four and a half years of war, during which the West—and once again Germany at the forefront—has entered the conflict on Kiev’s side step by step, ever more openly and on an ever greater scale, nobody can really pretend ignorance any longer. It began with 5,000 combat helmets. Today Germany is building long-range, high-performance drones for the Ukrainians, genuine top-quality products from Germany, which are used to attack oil refineries, Russian military installations, and even bathers on the Black Sea. Today, Germany is spending billions buying weapons around the world with which Russians are killed. Madmen such as Kiesewetter¹ and company think this is a good thing. Deluded figures such as the Lithuanian foreign minister babble about a NATO attack on Kaliningrad (Königsberg) and make their territory available, without the slightest attempt at concealment, for Ukrainian drone attacks. Any other Russian government would have sent the “Oreshniks” long ago. Putin has not. But a few months ago he had a list published of Western companies building drones for Ukraine. One is located in Schrobenhausen in Lower Bavaria; another is in northern Munich, three kilometers from where I live. These companies, the Kremlin stated, could become legitimate Russian targets. Of course they could. Nobody is going to intercept the “Oreshniks.”

But even that is still not enough. Hence the Leipzig drone incident. The Federal Interior Minister, who at least interrupted his vacation for the occasion instead of going off to play golf, avoided directly accusing Moscow, and for good reason—presumably because even he finds the evidence of Kremlin involvement too absurd to take seriously. The warmongers are already criticizing him for it. Peter Neumann, the terrorism “expert” from King’s College London, flatly attributes responsibility to Russia—without evidence, without investigative findings—and demands retaliation. Politicians must now “show no weakness,” he declares, while advocating openly hostile “responses”: intelligence operations, still greater support for Kiev, and further unspecified countermeasures.

Another “expert,” Nico Lange,² demands that Germany must “finally defend itself.” He is not—yet—calling for an immediate military counterstrike. Kiesewetter, meanwhile, is already raising the prospect of NATO consultations under Article 4.

To make sure the narrative of a Russian threat becomes firmly embedded in the public mind, Western intelligence services are providing the appropriate background music. US intelligence agencies are now warning that Putin could put NATO under serious pressure by 2029. But there could already be an “incident” within just a few weeks (!). Well, imagine that.

Once again: what is grotesque about all this is the brazen reversal of perpetrator and victim that the EU can afford because it has systematically silenced unwelcome voices such as Jacques Baud, Thomas Röper, Alina Lipp, Elena Kolbasnikowa, Xenia Fedorova, and others—not to mention the Russian news platforms RT and Sputnik, which have effectively been banned. After all, it was not Russia that moved ever closer to the West following the collapse of the Soviet Union, but the West that moved ever closer to Russia—despite the assurance given to Gorbachev in 1990. Nor was it Russia that kept escalating further and further over the past four and a half years, but the West. These are facts. They are extensively documented, including in statements by Merkel, Hollande, and many others. Anyone can read about them.

It is difficult to escape the impression that Germany’s political establishment is now feverishly preparing for what comes next. The cacophony permits only one conclusion: it has to begin now. Soon. So that a constitutional state of tension can finally be declared. Then the election in Saxony-Anhalt can be cancelled. Then the looming loss of power to the AfD, the inevitable bankruptcy of the EU, the collapse of the US stock market, and the crash of the global economy can all be swept aside. No, this is not a conspiracy theory. This is really how they think.

The decision to go to war was made long ago. I see nothing that can stop it now. Too many people need it. Now it is time to shoot back.³ Perhaps even on September 1 once again. Now that would be quite a masterstroke.

(Translated from the German)

1. Translator’s note (TN): a German CDU politician and former Bundeswehr colonel/general-staff officer. He has been a member of the German parliament since 2009 and has extensive experience in NATO and German military structures.

2. TN: Nico Lange is a former German Defense Ministry official and security-policy hawk whose calls for a tougher line against Russia exemplify the increasingly confrontational thinking of Berlin’s foreign-policy establishment.

3. TN: “Now it is time to shoot back” alludes to Adolf Hitler’s Reichstag speech of September 1, 1939, in which he declared, “Since 5:45 a.m., we have been returning fire,” portraying Germany’s invasion of Poland as a defensive response to alleged Polish aggression. The staged attack on the German radio station at Gleiwitz formed part of the propaganda used to support this claim.