Why we must defend our freedom
Stephan Anpalagan, who came to Germany as the child of war refugees, refused military service on grounds of conscience. Now realizes that he can no longer stand by his refusal with a clear conscience. The world has changed; the threat level is palpable. The Christian faith that once led him to refuse military service now provides him with the arguments to revoke that decision.
What does it mean to be a pacifist today? What do Germans with a migration history have to do with military service? What role can the Christian faith play? What does this mean for our sons—and daughters? And what does it mean for former conscientious objectors? Does political orientation (right, left, conservative, progressive) have anything to do with one's attitude toward military service? And what is the actual state and image of the Bundeswehr? – Stephan Anpalagan addresses these and other questions, developing a strongly opinionated contribution to the debate.
In his book, we can therefore accompany Stephan Anpalagan on his moral U-turn, which will lead him, at the end of the book, to pick up the phone and call the district military registration office to revoke his refusal of military service.
The book goes far beyond his personal story and development; rather, he incorporates it repeatedly when he critically examines the state of the Bundeswehr, when he looks at what role migrants play here, or when he shows that political classifications like left, right, progressive, or conservative reach their limits or no longer function here.
A strongly opinionated debate book on a highly current and explosive topic, a plea for a different approach to the Bundeswehr, that is at times challenging, hard, and even painful, but is repeatedly lightened by anecdotal asides, in Stephan Anpalagan's characteristic style.
“Anpalagan writes with a cool head and a burning heart.” - Claudia Kuhland, WDR
