Markus Lanz Tonight: The Heated Debate Over Mandatory Military Service and Surprise Guest Toni Feller

I tuned into Markus Lanz again last night – and let me tell you, it was no casual chat. They got straight to the point: Should military service become mandatory again for young men and women? Since the withdrawal from Afghanistan and rising tensions with Russia, the topic is back in living rooms across the country. And last night, things got really controversial, mainly because of one guest: Toni Feller.

An Evening with Explosive Potential

Lanz kicked off the show by looking back at the chaos in Kabul five years ago. Images of overcrowded military transports and desperate people clinging to plane wings – they were still fresh in everyone's minds. The question hanging in the air was: Did the German military fail back then because it was a professional army without a sufficient reserve? That's exactly where the debate started. And suddenly, Lanz brought a man forward from the back row, someone many only knew from specialist circles: Retired Colonel Toni Feller, a grey-haired veteran with tours in Kunduz and Mazar-i-Sharif under his belt.

The Guests and Their Positions

At the table, alongside Feller, were Green Party defence expert Anna-Maria Wagner and Professor Klaus Bittner, a sociologist who has always opposed conscription. The battle lines were quickly drawn:

• Toni Feller (Retired Colonel): "Abolishing conscription was a historic mistake. We severed the connection between the military and society. When push comes to shove, we simply lack the personnel to meet our alliance commitments. Young people need to learn again to take responsibility for the community – and not just in an office, but if necessary, with a weapon."
• Anna-Maria Wagner (Green Party): "I have great respect for Mr. Feller's service, but we can't turn back the clock to the 80s. Compulsory service is a major infringement on personal freedoms. We need a modern, high-tech army, not conscripts who will spend nine months bored and not really useful to anyone."
• Professor Klaus Bittner: "This isn't really about the military at all. It's about symbolic politics. The Afghanistan missions showed that the professional army was stretched thin – more people wouldn't have prevented the chaos either. What we need is a thorough political examination, not quick fixes."

When Feller Got Personal

Things got intense when Lanz probed further, asking Feller if he would truly be willing to send his own grandchildren to the front lines. The old colonel didn't back down: "I have three grandsons of enlistment age myself. When I see how they sometimes act – constantly on their phones, no sense of duty – I sometimes wish they had to spend nine months learning what discipline and camaraderie really mean. Not everyone has to serve in a combat role later on, but we need everyone for civil defence, for disaster relief. That has nothing to do with militarism." The studio fell completely silent. You could almost feel the other guests swallowing hard.

Wagner countered immediately: "That sounds like a disciplinary measure, Mr. Feller. But the state isn't a correctional facility for spoiled teenagers!" Feller remained calm, looked her intently in the eye, and said: "Ms. Wagner, I was in Kunduz when we saw wounded comrades burning in vehicles. That wasn't about discipline. That was about life and death. Believe me, we can't afford that kind of arrogance."

The Lessons from Afghanistan

Interestingly, Lanz kept circling back to the 2021 withdrawal. He played clips of German soldiers describing how dependent they were on the Americans back then. Feller seized on this: "That's precisely the point. A professional army quickly reaches its limits. If we truly want to be sovereign, we need a conscript-based force that's rooted in society. I'm not talking about a massive troop, but one that can grow in an emergency." Bittner waved it off: "That's a militia idea completely out of touch with reality. We're already lacking equipment as it is!"

And so the debate went back and forth. In the end, everyone agreed that tonight's episode of Markus Lanz had once again shown just how deep the divisions on this issue run. No one convinced the other, but maybe some viewers had a chance to rethink their stance. I, for one, gained a lot of respect for Toni Feller. The man knows what he's talking about – even if I'm not sure his solution is the right one.

If you missed the show: It's available to stream later – definitely check it out, it's worth it!