LUBBEN: As Germany faces a hostile Russia, a defense firm plans to open a munitions plant in the ex-communist east \u2014 but many locals are sympathetic toward Moscow and up in arms about the project.<\/p>\n
Opposition has mounted to the business venture in the town of Luebben, Brandenburg state, despite the promise of hundreds of jobs in the economically depressed region.<\/p>\n
An anti-war poster on the streets reflects the fears of many, showing a soldier holding a fallen comrade in his arms.<\/p>\n
It was put up by the local initiative \u201cOur Luebben\u201d to protest against plans by the arms group Diehl to soon start producing munitions components at the factory.<\/p>\n
German leaders often warn of Russia\u2019s war in Ukraine and its threats against European NATO members.<\/p>\n
But at a monthly meeting of the citizens\u2019 group, mention of the \u201cRussian threat\u201d was met with loud laughter.<\/p>\n
\u201cRussia is not our enemy! Russians lived here for years,\u201d said Manuela Noack, a 62-year-old nurse, harking back to the Soviet presence in communist East Germany.<\/p>\n
The group has collected around 1,600 signatures \u2014 in a town of 14,000 people \u2014 against the plant, which is expected to be running at full capacity by 2027.<\/p>\n
Nancy Schendlinger, the group\u2019s founder, argues that around 80 percent of residents are opposed to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz\u2019s push to make the Bundeswehr the largest conventional army in Europe.<\/p>\n
Merz says that more spending on defense is an urgent priority given Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine and US President Donald Trump\u2019s questioning of transatlantic security ties.<\/p>\n
– Divided community –<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve already lived through this,\u201d Schendlinger told AFP, referring to the Cold War arms race.<\/p>\n
That led to a \u201cspiral of militarization in both East and West, and in the end our pockets were empty,\u201d said the 54-year-old tax adviser.<\/p>\n
She said she hopes to never see her 15-year-old son carrying a weapon.<\/p>\n
The far-right, anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD), which advocates buying Russian energy and general detente with Moscow, won 39 percent of the vote in Luebben in February\u2019s general election.<\/p>\n
That was almost twice the party\u2019s national score and 17 points ahead of Merz\u2019s center-right CDU\/CSU alliance.<\/p>\n
While the local AfD supports the factory, it has backed \u201cOur Luebben\u201d on other issues, such as its 2023 campaign against the construction of a reception center for migrants.<\/p>\n
The AfD and CDU may be poles apart on Russia, but they agree that arms production is good for the region, especially as the factory is expected to create around 200 jobs.<\/p>\n
The factory site has a long military tradition, having made equipment for the Nazi army, then cartridges for the communist regime.<\/p>\n
After German reunification, unused munitions there were destroyed.<\/p>\n
CDU mayor Jens Richter says he \u201cunderstands\u201d the divisions in the community over the factory, but says that Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine means \u201cthe geopolitical situation has changed significantly.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marko Schmidt, from the local branch of the AfD, says he has no problem with weapons being made \u201cfor the defense of Germany\u201d \u2014 but not to send to Ukraine.<\/p>\n
– \u2018We should shut up\u2019 –<\/p>\n
Despite German political and security chiefs regularly accusing Moscow of acts of \u201chybrid warfare,\u201d Schmidt says \u201cour government is completely overreacting.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRussia will never attack Europe, or at least not Germany,\u201d he told AFP, adding that if there were to be a conflict, Europe would be to blame.<\/p>\n
For now, the factory in Luebben is something of an exception in eastern Germany, with 90 percent of the defense industry still based in the west.<\/p>\n
In 2023, the arms group Rheinmetall had to abandon plans to build a factory in Saxony, another eastern state, in the face of protests.<\/p>\n
Diehl declined to give an interview to AFP but said in a statement that it is \u201cseeking dialogue\u201d with residents over their concerns.<\/p>\n
At the monthly meeting of \u201cOur Luebben,\u201d townspeople voiced strong doubts that Russia today spells a threat.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat would they even come to Germany for?\u201d asked Andre Hannemann, a 60-year-old railway worker.<\/p>\n
Thomas Fischer, a 75-year-old retired airforce member, invoked Germany\u2019s dark past to explain his opposition to rearmament.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe Germans should shut up,\u201d he said. \u201cWe started two world wars. We should show restraint.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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