Germany Gave Up Most of Its Bunkers, Perhaps Unwisely

Germany once had some 2,000 public shelters capable of holding 1.6 million people. After decades of selling, gutting, and allowing them to be turned into hotels, clubs, mushroom farms, and laser-tag arenas, only 579 remain nationwide—and none that are "usable" in Berlin. In the Financial Times, Ruth Weissmann explores a question Germany has largely dodged until late: What if it actually needs its bunkers again? As Weissmann explains, the country started selling off bunkers in 2008 after deciding the year prior that the risk of foreign attack had declined to the point they weren't needed. The tune has now changed.

The Federal Office of Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance in late 2024 determined there was a bunker shortage; in May, the government pledged to spend €10 billion bolstering civil defense, with plans to create a bunker-finder app. But Weissmann describes the country's current plan as "loose": to find old bunkers or subterranean spaces (like parking garages or subway stations) that could double as shelters, though it has yet to establish guidelines for what would qualify as one. So for now, "cities are free to save or sell off bunkers as they like, with no thought required for the future." Read the full piece here.