Germany may close AfD access to secret defense plan

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius is considering whether to deprive a future government of Saxony-Anhalt of access to the full version of the secret defense plan OPLAN if the Alternative for Germany (AfD) gains power in the state. Berlin fears that sensitive military information could reach Russia.

This was reported by the German outlet RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland (RND). According to its information, Pistorius voiced the relevant considerations to defense politicians of the government factions.

The matter concerns the Deutschland Operations Plan – OPLAN Deutschland. This is a secret plan of action for state authorities, the Bundeswehr and other structures in the event of a large-scale crisis or war.

The full version of the document comprises over a thousand pages. Its copies are currently held by the governments of all 16 German federal states, while municipalities receive only the parts of the plan they need.

Germany is to become NATO's logistics hub

Among other things, OPLAN defines Germany's role in the event of a conflict between NATO and Russia. The country is to serve as one of the Alliance's main logistics hubs for transferring troops, equipment and material resources to the eastern flank.

According to Bundeswehr information, the document covers the interaction of the federal government, states, municipalities, armed forces, rescue services and business. The plan is continually refined in view of changes in the security situation.

That is precisely why state governments' access to the document has practical significance: in a crisis, they must ensure transport infrastructure, logistics, civil protection and the operation of critical facilities.

Berlin fears AfD's ties to Russia

The issue of protecting OPLAN has become more acute following AfD's victory in the Saxony-Anhalt elections. The party received about 44% of the vote and 39 of 83 seats in the state parliament, but did not achieve an absolute majority. The formation of a new government is still ongoing.

AfD opposes military aid to Ukraine and advocates the restoration of economic relations with Moscow. The party's state branch in Saxony-Anhalt is classified by local counterintelligence as confirmed right-wing extremist, a designation that AfD itself contests.

Back in July, Pistorius said that if AfD entered regional government, Germany would have to reconsider what classified information party representatives would be allowed to receive. The minister then explicitly referred to the closeness of individual AfD representatives to Russia.

After the elections, a similar discussion also began among the interior ministers of the federal states. In particular, Lower Saxony is checking whether it should continue to pass on sensitive data about espionage and sabotage to Saxony-Anhalt if AfD takes part in government.

Opposition in Saxony-Anhalt to restrictions

Berlin's plans have already sparked a dispute with the region's current authorities. The head of Saxony-Anhalt's state chancellery, Rainer Robra of the Christian Democratic Union, spoke out against the possible cutoff of the state from defense information.

According to him, it is hard to imagine normal cooperation among the federal states if Saxony-Anhalt were excluded from the exchange of information in the sphere of internal security or defense.

Robra also pointed out that in the event of a state of defense, decisions involve the Bundesrat, where Saxony-Anhalt retains full representation in any case.

The German Ministry of Defense has not publicly confirmed a decision to remove OPLAN from the Saxony-Anhalt chancellery. The ministry described a possible change in access procedures to the document as a hypothetical issue, while stressing that rules for handling the secret defense plan are strictly regulated.

Thus, for now the matter concerns the preparation of a precautionary mechanism rather than an already introduced restriction: it would become relevant only if AfD gains control of the state government.

Based on materials from: RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland, Focus, Tagesschau