Germany has a nuclear arsenal that includes approximately 20 B-61 nuclear bombs and around 130 other nuclear devices. Of course, the Germans do not actually own these nuclear weapons, but they do keep them and train their fighter pilots on how to use them.

These weapons are part of the American nuclear arsenal in Europe. Washington currently has approximately 350 nuclear weapons scattered across Europe in Turkey, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands and, of course, Germany.

The recent release of a confidential U.S. Air Force report claiming that U.S. nuclear weapons in Europe are not properly guarded by American security officials has sparked a debate in Germany over whether or not these warheads should remain in Germany or be withdrawn. Amid fears that Islamic terrorists could hijack the fissile material out of some of these bombs, several politicians from the Social Democratic Party and minor opposition parties have called for the weapons to be removed to the United States. The ruling Christian Democratic Party and the German Defense Ministry have affirmed, however, that they don’t want these nuclear weapons anywhere but where they are right now.

Christian Democrat foreign-policy spokesman Eckart von Klauden told a German newspaper that Germany’s strategy of nuclear deterrence must be preserved and that Germany could not afford to relinquish nuclear weapons as long as there are nuclear weapons elsewhere in the world. These comments were echoed by German Deputy Defense Minister Thomas Kossendey as he recently gave a speech in front of the German parliament’s lower house defending the strategic asset of American nukes in Germany.

German Defense Minister Franz Josef Jung went even further and said that he wants to keep both the nuclear weapons and several Tornado fighter jets (with the capacity of dropping nuclear bombs) on reserve for a possible nuclear war until at least 2020.

Comments like these echo the remarks made two years ago by former German Defense Minister Rupert Scholz, who said that Germany needed to develop its own national nuclear arsenal as a security measure against terrorist states.

With a terrorist regime like Iran on the brink of attaining nuclear weapons—not to mention the possibility of nuclear technology falling into the hands of any of several independent terrorist groups—the threat of nuclear war is growing. Some German officials are using this as a pretext for keeping America’s nuclear weapons within their reach—effectively making Germany a nuclear power in its own right.

The Grand Design

Back in July of 1983, Plain Truth editor in chief Herbert W. Armstrong met with Dr. Otto von Habsburg, head of the 700-year-old House of Habsburg and visionary architect of today’s expanding European Union. Here is what Mr. Armstrong related in a July 24, 1983, co-worker letter regarding Dr. Habsburg’s views on European unification:

In my private meeting with him, Dr. Habsburg expressed disappointment that progress on the European reunification had moved so slowly. I expressed the conviction that some totally unexpected world-shocking event could occur suddenly at any time that would high-pressure European nations to go together overnight, adopting the constitution already prepared by the European Parliament. This Parliament, although without substantial power, is composed of leaders who are framing the constitution in advance. He mentioned that there are madmen such as Kadafi and Khomeini who could pull off some startlingly unexpected international act that would press the panic button in Europe.

If a terrorist-sponsoring nation like Iran were to conduct a major terrorist strike against Germany or some other European state, the whole Continent could unite overnight. That was Dr. Habsburg’s view on the issue. Several key members of Germany’s current government have said that they want to keep America’s nuclear weapons around for just such an eventuality.

The threat of Islamic terrorism and the problem of illegal immigration are driving Germans to right-wing and center-right politics. Most of the opposition to the idea of keeping American nuclear power in Germany is coming from the left-wing Social Democrats. The popularity of the Social Democrats is declining, however, even as the center-right Christian Democrats gain strength. As this trend continues, calls to retain America’s nuclear weapons in Germany will only get louder.

More than this, the voices that are now calling to retain these nuclear weapons may soon start calling for more control over them. If securing the weapons is too much of a problem for the United States, the Germans could fill that role. Both John McCain and Barack Obama have pledged to give Europe more of a military role on the world scene if elected president. It is likely that German security guards could soon be guarding the B-61 nuclear weapons already stored at their air force bases.

This scenario is very similar to a worldview espoused by the late Dr. Franz Josef Strauss, longtime premier of the German state of Bavaria and influential Christian Social Union politician. Strauss, who was hailed as the “strongman of Europe” in his day, wrote in his book The Grand Design:

Europe ought to have concentrated all its efforts on developing the defense of its territory on an independent basis. I can well see the day in which America, given the creation of a European nuclear force in which the United States is not itself a participant, would be entirely willing to cooperate with assistance in research and with deliveries of materials. At least such a prospect is more likely than that Washington would find itself willing to give up the American right to veto in an Atlantic nuclear force and thereby risk having this force used against the wishes of the United States.

It is possible a German-led European Union could develop an independent nuclear force in cooperation with the United States as the next U.S. president gives it more global peacekeeping responsibilities. For a time, this would seem to be a mutually beneficial relationship—Europe and America working together in an attempt to bring about world stability. If the U.S. economy collapsed into a major depression, however, this partnership would be quickly stripped of its American half and a united Europe would be transformed into the world’s next nuclear superpower.

Nuclear Holocaust

In the April 1980 issue of the Plain Truth magazine, Herbert Armstrong actually forecasted exactly such an eventuality!—that of a nuclear-armed European empire:

You may be sure the West European leaders are conferring hurriedly and secretly about how and how soon they may unite and provide a united European military force so they can defend themselves! And so they will no longer have to give in meekly to Russia! And who will they blame for their humiliation and their necessity now to have a united Europe, with a united government, a common currency, and a common military force as great or greater than either the ussr or the U.S.A.? They will blame the United States! And when they are strong enough to assert themselves, they will first attack Britain for standing firm with the U.S., and then they will return a lot of hydrogen bombs the U.S. has stored now in Europe!

As shocking as this scenario may sound, it is prophesied in your Bible. Passages such as Isaiah 10:5-6 foretell of a time when Assyria (modern-day Germany) will be used as the rod of God’s anger to punish the hypocritical nations of Israel (modern-day America and Britain). Other passages, such as Matthew 24:21-22, indicate that this punishment will come in the form of nuclear blitzkrieg.

For a more detailed explanation of Germany’s nuclear future, read Nahum—An End-Time Prophecy for Germany.