The German choice – expropriation of the population or war
Introduction
There is little resistance to this destructive policy, nor to excessive regulation, digitalization, and surveillance, which are leading not only Germany down the path to totalitarianism. But what about German sovereignty? And what consequences will the emerging global shift in the balance of power have now that many countries are withdrawing from US dominance?
Questions answered by writer and journalist Wolfgang Bittner. His book Geopolitik im Überblick (Geopolitics at a Glance) was recently published by Verlag Hintergrund. Below is an excerpt.
Status quo
From a global perspective, we are facing the end of the imperial rule-based order and the realization of new socio-political ideas based on humanity and the equality of people and nations, in other words, on the principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations. Whatever the policies of the new US administration under Trump may be, many countries in the Global South, including Russia, China, and India, will no longer tolerate paternalism and oppression by the US, regardless of who is president, and that is the vast majority of the world's population.
Now it remains to be seen how the autocrat Trump will proceed. After initially surrounding himself with good ministers and staff and taking effective measures to curb the deep state, it is noticeable that he is maintaining the imperial claim of the US. Trump is doing almost everything differently, but much seems to remain the same. Rigorous measures that violate international law have been announced; for example, he wants to punish the BRICS countries and annex Canada, Greenland, and Panama. [1] He has only partially lifted sanctions, he is imposing high import tariffs, which is causing major problems in supply chains, and he is demanding that European NATO countries increase their defense spending to five percent of gross domestic product, which would be impossible without significant cuts in budgets for social services, education, culture, science, etc. Furthermore, like Germany, he supplies Israel with weapons and tolerates the genocide of the Palestinians. He ordered air strikes on Yemen, where Saudi Arabia is waging a proxy war against Iran with the support of the US, Britain, and France. [2] In early April 2025, he sent naval and air forces to the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean to dissuade Iran from its alleged nuclear weapons program, and ultimately supported Israel's war of aggression against Iran, which violated international law.
In addition, Donald Trump is causing chaos on stock markets and in the economy worldwide. It cannot be ruled out that he is attempting to confuse his opponents and avert or at least conceal an impending collapse of the US economic and financial system. He sees China as his main opponent, although he clearly wants to avoid a military conflict that could develop into a multi-front war or even a nuclear war. Instead, he is focusing on weakening China's economic power through isolation, high tariffs, and sanctions. If Trump succeeds in outmaneuvering China, Russia, Iran, and some countries in the Global South would lose their most important supporter. It would be wise for Europeans to stay out of the confrontation with China, as they can only lose in the process.
The situation in Ukraine is developing rapidly. For example, the US has signed an agreement with Ukraine on the exploitation of raw materials and the financing of reconstruction. On this occasion, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent emphasized that a “free, sovereign, and prosperous Ukraine” was in the interests of the US.[3] Putin also proposed exploiting mineral resources in partnership with the US.[4] However, it is unclear how this cooperation would take shape, who would benefit from it, and whether Ukraine would ultimately end up with the status of a US colony, as already sought by the Biden administration.
Excess and war rhetoric in Berlin
A shift in policy toward Russia became apparent on May 19, 2025, following another telephone conversation between Trump and Putin. Despite pressure from the EU, Trump did not impose any new sanctions on Russia. He told the European heads of state and government who were pressing him that he considered the Ukraine conflict to be a European matter: “This is not my war,” he emphasized once again. “We have become entangled in something we should not have been drawn into.”[5] In doing so, he distanced himself from the aggressive Russia policy of his predecessors, who were responsible for the Ukraine conflict.
It is currently unlikely that Berlin politicians will gradually muster the insight and understanding needed to seize the opportunity offered to them to change policy in Germany's interests. In foreign and domestic policy, one outrage follows another. Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul supports Trump's demand to increase military spending to five percent, Chancellor Friedrich Merz demands that Germans work more and be more modest,[6] and Defense Minister Boris Pistorius wants to reintroduce conscription. And the agitation and aggression against Russia in politics and the media continues. Leading politicians have lost all sense of proportion, and the media have, as is well known, degenerated into propaganda organs.
Immediately after taking office, Friedrich Merz joined forces with Emmanuel Macron and Keir Starmer to prevent the end of the war in Ukraine, as absurd as that may sound. This sinister triumvirate, which was joined in mid-May 2025 by Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, is working behind the scenes with Trump's opponents in Congress, government agencies, the State Department, the Pentagon, and NGOs at home and abroad (such as USAID[7]) to weave a web of intrigue to thwart Trump's plans. This includes EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and many of the politicians who have attained leadership positions through the patronage of previous US administrations and their influential organizations. This group of individuals, who have driven Western Europe into ruin, is rejected by the vast majority in their countries.[8]
But there is hardly any resistance. In almost all EU countries, the opposition is in a bad way due to malicious war rhetoric and increasing criminal prosecution of resistant citizens. In Germany, public prosecutors, courts, and a “task force against hate and incitement”[9] are taking action against anything that is considered criticism of those responsible for the untenable situation. And recently, the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs has set up a hotline where people can seek advice in case of undesirable thinking, “to protect our society from the growing dangers of conspiracy thinking.”[10] At the same time, politicians who call for “war readiness” and speak of “Putin sympathizers” and “disinformants” acting on behalf of Russia are encouraging the denunciation of government critics. Among other things, this is furthering the already existing division in society.
Threat and hope
“When I think of Germany at night, I am robbed of sleep,” wrote Heinrich Heine in 1844 while in exile in Paris. He was not the only one who felt this way. Many intellectuals, writers, and artists fled at that time because they feared for their lives. We haven't gone quite that far yet; today there are other ways of destroying people's livelihoods, and they are being used: public defamation, censorship, house searches, termination of employment and eviction, account freezing, and so on. Those who do not submit are to be eliminated in one way or another.
Despite everything, however, it should be noted that the extra-parliamentary opposition in Germany in particular, whose criticism of Berlin's policies is partly reflected in the speeches of Trump and Vance, has been strengthened from outside. Quite a few people are still taking a stand and refusing to be intimidated, which continues to fuel a vague hope for different, perhaps better times.
For conscious people, the question arises as to how a humane, dignified life can be led in today's society – for as long as it lasts. One thing is certain: without a fundamental reorientation and reorganization of the economic and financial system, there will be no satisfactory change in living conditions. An economy geared toward permanent growth, with an interest-bearing monetary system and financial markets decoupled from the real economy, follows the logic of a chain letter. To prevent the predictable crash, either the population must be expropriated or war must be waged.
This is the current situation, in which representatives of capital interests are implementing increasingly harsh measures to control and subjugate the population. The majority of Western European countries, including Germany, have long been on a slippery slope toward totalitarianism. Countering this development would require a strong and conscious civil society. Therefore, educating the population outside of the mainstream media must be a primary concern of all forces of peace.
Enemy image
Hope in June 2025, a manifesto was issued by prominent Social Democrats protesting against the German government's foreign and security policy,[11] even if one does not have to agree with everything they wrote. After all: former parliamentary group leader Rolf Mützenich, foreign policy expert Ralf Stegner, former party leader Norbert Walter-Borjans, former finance minister Hans Eichel, and many others called for an immediate U-turn in dealings with Russia and on issues of rearmament. Among other things, they opposed the high costs of rearmament and the stationing of new US medium-range missiles in Germany.
The manifesto states: “In Germany and most European countries, forces have prevailed that seek the future primarily in a strategy of military confrontation and hundreds of billions of euros for armament.” But “military alarmist rhetoric and huge armament programs” did not create more security for Germany and Europe, but led “to destabilization and a strengthening of the mutual perception of threat between NATO and Russia.” Therefore, a “peace and security order for Europe that is supported and respected by all” is needed.
The resistance that immediately formed is great, but the Social Democrats' manifesto could be the signal for a rethinking of peace policy.
The writer and journalist Dr. jur. Wolfgang Bittner lives in Göttingen. He has published over 80 books, including “Der neue West-Ost-Konflikt. Inszenierung einer Krise” (The New East-West Conflict: Staging a Crisis) (2021), “Deutschland – verraten und verkauft” (Germany: Betrayed and Sold) (2021), “State of Emergency: Geopolitical Insights and Analyses with Reference to the Ukraine Conflict” (2023), and the novel “Die Heimat, der Krieg und der Goldene Westen” (2019). The above article is an excerpt from the book “Geopolitics at a Glance: Germany-USA-EU-Russia,” which has just been published by Verlag Hintergrund in the WISSEN KOMPAKT series.
Sources and notes
[1] See www.tagesschau.de/ausland/europa/groenland-daenemark-unabhaengigkeit-usa-trump-100.html. Meanwhile, US financial investor BlackRock is said to have taken control of the ports at both ends of the Panama Canal.
[3] See www.tagesschau.de/wirtschaft/weltwirtschaft/usa-ukraine-abkommen-faq-102.html
[4] See https://rtde.org/international/237973-normalisierung-zwischen-washington-und-moskau/
[5] quoted after www.n-tv.de/politik/Trump-erklaert-europaeischen-Staatschefs-Putin-will-Krieg-nicht-beenden-article25786517.html
[7] USAID, significantly reduced by Trump, finances questionable US projects worldwide, but also development aid measures. See https://globalbridge.ch/usaid-jetzt-im-blick-der-ganzen-welt/
[8] Take this from Macron, for example: https://de.statista.com/infografik/33628/zustimmungswerte-der-franzoesischen-premierminister-und-des-praesidenten/
[9] See https://initiative-toleranz-im-netz.de/
«The German choice – expropriation of the population or war»