![](https://www.cer.eu/sites/default/files/styles/spotlight/public/merkel_military-sl.jpg?itok=RrzKfD0A)
Germany: Reluctant military giant?
For a long time, says military expert Sophia Besch from the Centre for European Reform: "If you were a soldier [in Germany] you could not really ride a train in your uniform. You'd be approached by passengers calling you a 'murderer'."...Some said the problem was exaggerated in a fevered atmosphere. But it shows, says Sophia Besch, "that there's still a really tortured relationship between the Bundeswehr and the German public".