Markus Lanz Tonight: The Heated Debate on Conscription and Surprise Guest Toni Feller

I tuned into Markus Lanz again last night – and let me tell you, it was no tame chat. They got down to the nitty-gritty: Should military service become compulsory again for young men and women? Since the withdrawal from Afghanistan and the growing tensions with Russia, the topic is back in the nation's living rooms. And last night, there were serious controversies, mainly because of one guest: Toni Feller.

An Evening with Explosive Potential

Lanz kicked off the show with a look back at the chaos in Kabul five years ago. Images of overcrowded military transporters and desperate people clinging to the wings – they were still fresh in everyone's mind. The question hanging in the air was: Did the German Armed Forces fail back then because it was a professional army without sufficient reserves? That's exactly where the debate started. And suddenly, Lanz brought a man from the background to the forefront, someone many only knew from specialist circles: Retired Colonel Toni Feller, a grey-haired veteran with years of service in Kunduz and Mazar-i-Sharif.

The Guests and Their Positions

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

• Toni Feller (Retired Colonel): "Abolishing conscription was a historic mistake. We severed the link between the army 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, bearing arms."
• Anna-Maria Wagner (Green Party): "I have great respect for Mr. Feller's service, but we cannot turn the clock back to the 80s. Compulsory service is a profound interference with individual freedoms. We need a modern, high-tech army, not conscripts who are bored for nine months and are of little real use 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 that chaos either. What we need is a thorough political reappraisal, not quick fixes."

When Feller Got Personal

Things got really interesting 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 conscription age myself. When I see how they sometimes behave – glued to their phones, no sense of duty – then I sometimes wish they'd have to spend nine months learning what discipline and camaraderie mean. Not everyone has to do combat duty later on, but we need everyone for civil defence, for disaster relief. That has nothing to do with militarism." You could hear a pin drop in the studio. You could almost feel the other guests' unease.

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

The Lessons from Afghanistan

Interestingly, Lanz kept coming back to the 2021 withdrawal. He played clips where German soldiers reported how dependent they were on the Americans at the time. Feller used this: "That's precisely the point. A professional army quickly reaches its limit. If we truly want to be sovereign, we need a conscription-based army that is rooted in society. I'm not talking about a massive force, but one that can expand in an emergency." Bittner waved this off: "That's a militia idea completely out of touch with reality. The equipment is lacking as it is!"

And so the debate went back and forth. In the end, everyone agreed that tonight's episode of Markus Lanz once again showed just how deep the divisions on this issue run. No one convinced the other, but perhaps some viewers had cause to rethink their opinion. 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 on demand later – definitely worth a watch!