Germany is looking to weapons to kick-start its economy. Since the pandemic, Germany’s economy has struggled to regain its footing. Russia’s war on Ukraine has driven Germany’s energy prices up and fueled interest in defense. Germany’s new government views Europe’s military buildup as a potential lifeline for its battered economy. German Economic Minister Katherina Reiche is embracing that opportunity wholeheartedly, as Welt wrote on July 28 in “How Katherina Reiche Is Now Acting as Armaments Minister.”
“Several measures taken by the minister in recent days clearly illustrate the new focus of her department,” Welt wrote. “Reiche has discovered the defense industry for herself.”
On July 23, the German federal cabinet approved a draft law aimed at accelerating the country’s armament efforts. Concerning the new law, Reiche said: “We need more weapons, and we need them faster. This can only be achieved by expanding production.”
After the law passed, Reich went on tour to promote the new legislation to the defense industry. Her first stop: the Diehl weapons manufacturer in Röthenbach an der Pegnitz, Bavaria. Founded in 1902, Diehl served Germany in two world wars. Now the government wants its help with militarization.
Welt wrote:
Defense is not actually part of Reiche’s portfolio. … Apart from controlling arms exports, her ministry only has Department IV D 6, which deals with the issue. However, this defense department is set to gain in importance.
In addition, Reiche is setting up a new advisory group for the security and defense industry in the Ministry of Economics, as the Politico newsletter “Industry & Trade” has learned. Members will include Moritz Schularick, president of the Kiel Institute for the World Economy; René Obermann, chairman of the supervisory board of Airbus; Nico Lange, senior fellow at the Munich Security Conference; and retired Lt. Gen. Jürgen-Joachim von Sandrart.
The experts will advise the ministry on how to achieve a rapid ramp-up of the defense industry. The focus will be on high technology, space travel, artificial intelligence, robotics, satellite communications and other new technologies.
Another adviser to Reiche in this new field is likely her partner, former German Defense Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg—a man the Trumpet watches closely (read “Guttenberg and a Revived German Militarism” by Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry).
Guttenberg is also a close friend of Schularick, an adviser to Reiche. When Guttenberg hosted him on his weekly podcast, Schularick said: “It is indeed the case that I would not be president of the Kiel Institute for the World Economy if we hadn’t talked about it, so you have something to do with it.” Perhaps Guttenberg also encouraged him to be more active in advising the current German government.
Schularick’s Kiel Institute has calculated that higher defense spending can boost the economy: If European Union countries increase their military spending to 3.5 percent, as planned by Germany, their gross domestic product could rise by 0.9 to 1.5 percent. “To achieve this, however, governments would have to spend the money on state-of-the-art products,” Welt wrote. “These would have to be produced in Europe and not just purchased from the United States. Additional spending would have to be financed through debt, not through taxes or cuts. A lot of money would have to go into research and development.”
If you boost your economy by pumping loaned money into the defense industry, you end up with a lot of debt. And unlike some other investments, military goods don’t pay for themselves unless they are used to conquer land.
German militarization is a trend the Trumpet watches closely because it aligns with numerous Bible prophecies. Not only does the Bible reveal that Germany will become a formidable military power in this end time, it also shows that a strong leader will lead this military force into war.
Referring to Assyria, the ancient name for Germany, God says in Isaiah 10:5-7: “O Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, and the staff in their hand is mine indignation. I will send him against an hypocritical nation, and against the people of my wrath will I give him a charge, to take the spoil, and to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets. Howbeit he meaneth not so, neither doth his heart think so; but it is in his heart to destroy and cut off nations not a few.”
Our free booklet Germany and the Holy Roman Empire explains this and many more prophecies for Germany. We must understand these prophecies to know what lies ahead for our world. As Jesus Christ said: “Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man” (Luke 21:36).