
Students in Germany should be better prepared to cope with all kinds of crises and disasters, German Education Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger said.
A member of the business-focused Free Democrats (FDP), she stressed the importance of civil protection in comments to the Funke Media Group of local and regional newspapers on Saturday.
Stark-Watzinger said schools should address civil protection and stressed that the goal should be "to strengthen our resilience."
"Society as a whole must be well prepared for crises — ranging from a pandemic, to natural disaster, to war," she said.
Stark-Watzinger spoke of civil defense exercises done in schools in other countries, such as in the U.K., saying Germany could also learn to do the same.
The minister also called for the development of a "calm" relationship between schoolchildren and the armed forces. She suggested that military officers visit schools to explain what the "Bundeswehr" does for our security."