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

So, I tuned into Markus Lanz again last night – and let me tell you, it was far from a casual chat. They got right down to the nitty-gritty: Should military service become mandatory again for young men and women? Ever since the withdrawal from Afghanistan and rising tensions with Russia, this topic is back front and center in living rooms across the country. And last night, things got really controversial, mainly because of one guest: Toni Feller.

A Night 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 aircraft wings – those were still fresh in everyone's minds. The central question: Did the Bundeswehr 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 expert circles: Retired Colonel Toni Feller, a gray-haired veteran who served in Kunduz and Mazar-i-Sharif.

The Guests and Their Positions

At the table with Feller were Green Party defense expert Anna-Maria Wagner and Professor Klaus Bittner, a sociologist and long-time opponent of 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 to take responsibility for the community again – and not just in an office, but if necessary, with a weapon in hand."
• Anna-Maria Wagner (Green Party): "I have immense respect for Mr. Feller's service, but we can't afford to backslide into the 80s. Mandatory service is a profound intrusion on individual freedoms. We need a modern, high-tech army, not conscripts who spend nine months bored out of their minds and are of little real use."
• Professor Klaus Bittner: "This isn't really about the military at all. It's about symbolic politics. The Afghanistan missions showed the Bundeswehr was stretched thin even with its professional soldiers – more people wouldn't have prevented that chaos either. What we need is a thorough political reckoning, not quick fixes."

When Feller Got Personal

Things got really interesting when Lanz dug deeper, 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 draft age myself. When I see how they act sometimes – always glued to their phones, no sense of duty – there are moments I wish they'd have to spend nine months learning what discipline and camaraderie really mean. Not everyone has to be a combat soldier later on, but we need everyone for civil defense, for disaster relief. That has nothing to do with militarism." You could have heard a pin drop in the studio. You could almost feel the other guests gulping.

Wagner countered immediately: "That sounds like a disciplinary measure, Mr. Feller. The state isn't a reform school for spoiled kids!" Feller remained calm, looked her straight in the eye, and said: "Ms. Wagner, I was in Kunduz when we saw wounded comrades burning alive. That wasn't about discipline. That was about life and death. Believe me, we can't afford this 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 it: "That's precisely the point. A professional army quickly hits its limits. If we truly want to be sovereign, we need a conscript army rooted in society. I'm not talking about a massive force, but one that has the capacity to expand in an emergency." Bittner waved it off: "That's a militia idea completely out of touch with reality. We don't even have the necessary equipment now!"

And so the debate raged on. In the end, everyone agreed that tonight's episode of Markus Lanz once again demonstrated just how deep the divisions on this issue run. No one convinced the other, but maybe some viewers reconsidered their own views. 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: You can still catch it on demand – definitely check it out, it's worth your time!