CDU criticizes proposed loyalty checks for volunteer firefighters in Schleswig-Holstein

In Schleswig-Holstein, the CDU Holstentor-Nord has expressed opposition to a legislative proposal that would require members of the volunteer fire department to demonstrate loyalty to the free democratic basic order.

Local CDU chairman Klaus Hinrich Rohlf warned that while extremists have no place in fire services, the law should not turn into a ‘ideological screening’ (Gesinnungsprüfung) for volunteers. He argued that the policy could discourage young people from joining community organizations like the fire department, the THW, or the Red Cross, noting that political views often develop over time and that effective emergency response relies on mutual reliability rather than political affiliation.