Most Germans oppose having nuclear weapons: Survey

BERLIN

Most Germans oppose having own nuclear arms amid fears that US President Donald Trump could pull out his atomic weapons from Europe, media reports said Tuesday.

Some 64% are against the construction of a German atomic bomb, while 31% are in favor and 5% have no comment on the issue, said a Forsa survey published by the Hamburg-based weekly news magazine Stern.

Compared to February 2024, however, the number of supporters has increased by four percentage points.

As a result of its aggressor role in World War II, Germany has committed itself to non-nuclear defense in international treaties, according to which it is banned from acquiring nuclear weapons, at the same time as cooperating in NATO weapons-sharing agreements.

Germany’s incoming Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on March 9 that he hoped the US atomic umbrella would remain in place, and that a European shield should be viewed as a “complement” to it.

He said he would reach out to France and Britain to discuss the sharing of nuclear weapons, but warned that such a step could not be a replacement for the US existing protective atomic shield over Europe.

“The sharing of nuclear weapons is an issue we need to talk about. We have to be stronger together in nuclear deterrence,” Merz told public broadcaster Deutschlandfunk (DLF).

“We should talk with both countries (France and Britain) always, and in addition, from the perspective of supplementing the American nuclear shield, which we of course want to see maintained,” he added.

It is reportedly believed that about 20 US nuclear warheads are stored at the Buechel Air Base, located in southwestern Germany.

Neither NATO nor the US and German governments disclose precise numbers and locations citing security reasons.

However, NATO has said the US has deployed a limited number of B-61 nuclear weapons to locations in Europe.

In 2022, Germany chose Buechel as the future home of 35 American-made F-35 aircraft. They will replace their aging Tornado jets, which Germany has relied on for decades.