"Contribute a little"

Thomas Gottschalk calls for compulsory military service for women

Thomas Gottschalk(Bild: Philipp von Ditfurth / dpa / picturedesk.com)

In his podcast "Die Supernasen", Thomas Gottschalk (74) speculated with his co-presenter Mike Krüger (72) about the German armed forces. In Gottschalk's opinion, women could "also get involved a bit".

In the current edition of the podcast "Die Supernasen", Gottschalk explained to his co-presenter Mike Krüger: "Mike, unlike me, you went through the Bundeswehr. We all agree that it's not the worst experience you can have in life."

Gottschalk: Teenagers are "just being spoiled"
It's good for young people "to find themselves in a community where it's not just about being spoiled", said the 74-year-old.

Nowadays, parents make life "as easy as possible" for their children, complained the former "Wetten, dass...?" presenter. This is not the case in the military: "In the Bundeswehr, they don't make it as easy as possible. And sometimes that's a really good experience." Krüger agreed and emphasized that he thought "voluntary military service" was a "very good idea".

Women "don't have to go to the front"
Gottschalk was also in favor of targeting young women. "There's a discussion that girls shouldn't have to do it, men should take it seriously if possible," he explained. "Of course, in the spirit of emancipation, it's not a bad thing for women to get involved. They don't have to be on the front line."

However, his podcast partner took a different view: "Anyone who's ever been through the field with a machine gun during basic training knows what that means. And I wouldn't really want to put women through that, despite equal rights." In his opinion, "men should apply first".