How to Prepare for War: A Civilian’s Guide

Take a sheet of paper and walk through an ordinary day: drinking, eating, sleeping, using the bathroom, getting information and reaching loved ones. For each task, note what depends on electricity, tap water, the internet or a journey.

The broad idea of preparing for war becomes a set of specific jobs. This works for a shared flat, someone living alone or a small rented apartment.

Then mark three unanswered questions you can resolve today. Perhaps you own a flashlight but nobody knows where it is. Your water might be behind heavy storage boxes. Only one person may have the school’s phone number. This inventory is our editorial planning exercise; it does not assess the military situation.

For Germany, the BBK recommends aiming to manage independently for ten days; three days of supplies already provide a useful start. This is a preparedness target, not a prediction of how long a war or supply disruption would last.

Choose a manageable shopping step: add whatever your household would run short of first to your next ordinary grocery trip. Use three columns: already available, planned requirement and still missing. Count the people who actually live with you. Record possible guests separately rather than counting the same vague reserve several times. Keep the list with the supplies and update it when something is taken.

The BBK identifies shelf-stable foods and meals that can be eaten without cooking as useful supplies. Check a complete example day: what would breakfast, lunch and dinner look like with the stove unavailable? Can you open each package? Does the food suit everyone who will eat it?

Our suggestion is to put that day’s ingredients on the table, together with the utensils and drinking water they require. This exercise reveals gaps that a list of package counts can hide. Water needs a separate calculation; use the existing water-storage guide and its clearly identified national guidance. An outdoor filter is not blanket evidence that any available water will be safe to drink.

Planning example for adults in Germany: the BBK gives at least 1.5 litres of fluid a day, plus 0.5 litres of water if cooking. At a combined two litres per person per day, two adults for three days require twelve litres. This is a drinking-and-cooking baseline; hygiene, pets and higher individual needs require additional provision.

Work out which rooms and routes you know in your home and which questions remain open. Is the basement door locked? Who can open it? Can someone using a walking aid reach the proposed area? You can discuss these practical questions with the building manager and other residents in ordinary circumstances.

The appropriate place depends on the hazard. The BBK’s shelter guidance explicitly distinguishes between different events. A blanket rule such as “always go to the basement” is therefore insufficient. The companion shelter guide explains the German guidance for explosion hazards and helps you prepare a short location card for your household. It does not replace a building assessment.

The BBK describes emergency luggage as support for the first days away from home and includes personal medication and documents. Apply that idea to your own circumstances: which things would be difficult to replace quickly? Which do you use every day and therefore cannot keep permanently packed?

Write a short add-at-departure card for those everyday items and keep it with the bag. Glasses on the bedside table or keys in a coat have a specific location; “important things” does not. Work out the packing arrangement in advance. During immediate danger, searching for possessions must not delay getting to safety.

A plan held in one person’s head is difficult for everyone else to use. Discuss where each person normally spends a weekday and what arrangements already exist with school, care providers or work. Our suggestion: ask everyone to explain the shared plan in their own words. That exposes different expectations before they become a problem during an emergency.

The family guide takes you through a contact card, responsibilities and a calm rehearsal. Someone living alone can use the same approach with a trusted person who has agreed to help. Do not publish private phone numbers or medical details as a public packing list; keep them in your personal records.

The BBK advises checking the original source, supporting evidence and other trustworthy reports before forwarding information. A dramatic claim deserves that scrutiny.

Build a short source list now: your municipality, an official warning service and a reputable regional news broadcaster. Our editorial addition is to record the time and affected location whenever you write down an update.

An accurate quotation may refer to another district or an earlier point in time. If you cannot confirm a message, identify that uncertainty rather than turning it into instructions for other people.

Describe the need before searching for a product: “I need light to read the label on my bag in a dark hallway.” You can then compare existing equipment and new options against the same job. For water containers, access and handling matter; for electronics, consider controls, connections and power requirements.

A military-sounding product name tells you little about whether it suits you. Collect unanswered questions about the exact version and its instructions. The linked categories support selection without requiring you to replace your entire household setup. Add justified purchases to your personal equipment list, then check whether they perform the intended task when they arrive.