German business magnate Reinhold Würth warns of 'deindustrialisation spiral'

In April 2026, I celebrated my 91st birthday. At the extremity of World War II, I was 10 years old, which gave maine the accidental to acquisition the aureate years of the German Federal Republic from time one. Future generations volition notation to the play from 1945 to astatine slightest 2026 arsenic Germany’s Golden 80 Years: a Germany astatine bid for 80 years, yearly maturation successful prosperity, a functioning democracy.

I americium grateful that I was calved into this clip successful 1935. I was ne'er a soldier. In my youth, I belonged to what was called the Silent Generation. This year, successful 2026, I volition person been joined to my beloved woman Carmen for 70 years.

Germany's prosperity grew from twelvemonth to year

My vocation and improvement tin besides beryllium compared to the improvement of the Federal Republic. My begetter Adolf was capable to found the Würth institution successful Künzelsau a fewer days aft the extremity of World War II, backmost past with the support of the American subject government.

In 1949, I joined this two-man concern arsenic an apprentice and, aft the abrupt passing of my begetter successful 1954, had to proceed managing the concern astatine the property of nineteen, which turned retired alternatively well. I worked connected winning customers and recruiting caller sta7. I considered it a blessed hobby which yet resulted successful 86,000 employees generating much than €20 cardinal successful yearly income (2025) today.

On average, Würth's income grew by 19.3% each year. On the improvement of the Federal Republic of Germany, it tin beryllium said that this lost, destroyed state was rebuilt by the hard enactment of its citizens and the economy, by authorities and politicians. Prosperity grew twelvemonth aft year.

After buying a bicycle and a caller car, galore Germans were capable to determination into their ain homes, portion their new-found prosperity allowed them to commencement travelling ever greater distances to abrogation spots astir the world. So far, truthful good.

Children and grandchildren of babe boomers emotion convenience

Recapping this development, you could accidental that a bulk of the colonisation had achieved a unafraid beingness and a definite grade of prosperity, which, successful turn, diminished the involvement of employees successful making further steps successful their nonrecreational careers.

Instead, radical devoted their attraction to their families and to preparing a mostly stress-free aboriginal for their children, which resulted successful them pampering the younger procreation to a definite degree.

Adding to this improvement was the motorboat of the perpetually improving iPhone astir the crook of the millennium: Quickly, the children taught their parents and teachers however to usage the iPhone.

This led to a reorientation of an full generation, leaving the stressful constitution of one’s ain endurance strategy down and alternatively assuming that well-being would beryllium guaranteed. Worries astir war? None whatsoever. Stress astatine work? None whatsoever. Having the parents wage for a travel astir the satellite aft school? Yes, please! This much oregon little answers the question of however Germany is doing.

The children and grandchildren of the Baby Boomer generation emotion comfortableness and protestation that Friday afternoons should not beryllium portion of their moving lives, but alternatively portion of the weekend. This utilized to beryllium the Saturday afternoon!

2026: Germany's immune strategy is nary longer trained

Now that radical person been roused from their quiescent lives successful 2026 by warnings of Germany’s economical decline, the menace of war, and fears of inflation, it turns retired that Germany’s immune strategy is nary longer trained and needs to beryllium revitalised with infinite effort. The governments nether Scholz and Merz bespeak this situation, with the second inactive having an accidental to amended the situation.

It is simply a information that astir accumulation companies successful this nationalist system are nary longer competitory owed to the unreasonable wage demands of the commercialized unions: Unit accumulation costs successful different EU countries are up to 50% little than successful Germany.

As a result, products made successful Germany are nary longer competitory connected the planetary market, portion employees of accumulation companies that adjacent down successful Germany are losing their jobs. Germany is caught successful a downward spiral of deindustrialisation.

Take connected the contention successful electronics, IT and AI

In this context, I spot lone 1 accidental to avert this catastrophe and that is starting to vie with US giants Google, Apple, etc. successful the electronics, IT, and artificial quality sectors, gathering up home clouds, and innovating successful the artificial quality conception similar determination is nary tomorrow.

This is going to beryllium immensely hard considering the immense advancement successful the improvement of artificial quality successful China. Apart from the purely economical aspects, we should not neglect the temper and emotions successful Germany: 50% of macroeconomic occurrence is simply emotion, the wide mood, and the citizens' opinions.

The prosperity-driven multitude of voices successful this country, hatred code against everyone and everything is poisoning the country’s immune system.

One of the highlights successful the 91 years of my beingness was 9 November 1989, erstwhile the Berlin Wall fell successful the GDR and German reunification began. How elated Germans were backmost then, enthusiastic astir the German reunification. Millions were moved to tears. This was 1 of the precocious points successful the past of the Federal Republic of Germany.

And today? Morally narrow-minded and petty carnage (metaphorically speaking). Everyone against everyone, everyone against everything, does it person to beryllium this way?? Against the menace of different World War, we arsenic Germans should rearm –democratically, ideologically, and militarily – simply to deter our enemies and sphere the peace.

But this requires consensus, unity, a feeling of belonging, and not strikes for higher institution pensions aft status (Lufthansa). Now, successful the 92nd twelvemonth of my life, I cognize that I volition walk distant from this Earth and our state wrong a alternatively little play of time.

The past words spoken by Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg were "Long unrecorded Germany." Allow maine to adhd "Long unrecorded Germany successful state and democracy."